BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Bankruptcy

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the average duration of bankruptcy restrictions orders has been.

Patrick McFadden: Bankruptcies can result in either a bankruptcy restrictions order (BRO) or a bankruptcy restrictions undertaking (BRU). A BRU has the same effect in law as a BRO but does not involve a court hearing. The period of a BRU is slightly discounted to take account of early settlement of the matter, hence the lower duration average in respect of BRUs as opposed to BROs.
	In the period 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2005 the average duration of BROs was 5.25 years and of BRUs was 5.81 years.
	In the period 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006 the average duration of BROs was 6.33 years and of BRUs was 5.09 years.
	In the period 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007 the average duration of BROs was 5.71 years and of BRUs was 4.67 years.
	In the period 1 April 2007 to 17 March 2008 the average duration of BROs was 5.78 years and of BRUs was 4.37 years.

Bankruptcy

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many bankruptcies have been declared by the official receivers to be the result of dishonest, reckless or otherwise culpable behaviour under the bankruptcy restrictions orders process contained in the Enterprise Act 2002.

Patrick McFadden: When the Secretary of State considers that a bankrupt has been guilty of dishonest, reckless or culpable behaviour he may seek to obtain a bankruptcy restrictions order (BRO) or bankruptcy restrictions undertaking (BRU).
	In the period 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2005 there were four BROs and 16 BRUs.
	In the period 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006 there were 190 BROs and 653 BRUs.
	In the period 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007 there were 264 BROs and 1,603 BRUs.
	In the period 1 April 2007 to 18 March 2008 there were 171 BROs and 1,598 BRUs.
	This amounts to a total of 4,499 bankrupts subject to bankruptcy restrictions since the Enterprise Act came into force.

Common Sugar Regime: ACP Countries

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what representations his Department has made to the European Commission on the prompt and efficient payment of transitional funds allocated to Caribbean sugar protocol countries as part of the measures accompanying the reform of the EU sugar regime.

Gareth Thomas: In November 2007 the Secretary of State for International Development wrote to the European Commissioner for Development expressing concern about delays in disbursement of funds allocated under the measures accompanying reform of the sugar regime. He also stressed the importance of making timely predictable disbursement of funds under multi-annual programmes. On 7 March officials from DFID met Koos Richelle (Director-General for European Aid) in Brussels, and they will also be raising this issue. We will continue to monitor the timing and effectiveness of disbursements under the accompanying measures for sugar protocol countries and make representations to the Commission for improvement when needed.

Common Sugar Regime: ACP Countries

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what representations his Department has made to the European Commission to ensure that transitional funding promised to Caribbean signatory countries of the sugar protocol as part of the accompanying measures to the reform of the EU sugar regime will be disbursed according to the timetable set out in the Multi-Annual Indicative programme (2007-10).

Gareth Thomas: In November 2007 the Secretary of State for International Development wrote to the European Commissioner for Development expressing concern about delays in disbursement of allocated funds under the measures accompanying reform of the sugar regime. He also stressed the importance of making timely predictable disbursement of funds under multi-annual programmes. On 7 March officials from DFID met Koos Richelle (Director-General for European Aid) in Brussels and they will also be raising this issue.
	As part of the Multi-Annual Indicative programme under the accompanying measures for sugar protocol (AMSP), the Commission agrees an annual action plan (AAP) with member states. The 2007 action plan was approved in October 2007 and funds are now being disbursed. We expect the 2008 action plan to be presented to member states for approval in September 2008. DFID-Caribbean is working closely with the Commission Delegation in the region to ensure that all disbursed funds are spent effectively.
	We will continue to monitor the timing and effectiveness of disbursements under the AMSP and make representations to the Commission for improvement when needed.

Common Sugar Regime: ACP Countries

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much the European Commission disbursed under the Multi-Annual Indicative programme (2007-10) for Caribbean signatory countries of the sugar protocol as part of the accompanying measures to the reform of the EU sugar regime in the period 1 January 2007 to 1 January 2008; and if he will make representations to the European Commission on the disbursement before 31 March 2008 of the remaining funds allocated for 2007 to Caribbean signatory countries.

Gareth Thomas: Disbursement of funds to countries benefiting from support under the measures accompanying the reform of the EU sugar regime are governed by two multi-annual programmes (2007-10 and 2011-13). Each year the Commission agrees an annual action plan (AAP) with member states which identifies levels of support and how funding in that year will be spent. The 2007 AAP was approved in October 2007. According to the latest information received from the Commission, no funds were disbursed between 1 January 2007 and 1 January 2008. However, disbursement of funds has now begun.
	In November 2007 the Secretary of State for International Development wrote to the European Commissioner for Development expressing concern about delays in disbursement of allocated funds under the accompanying measures to reform of the sugar regime. He also stressed the importance of making timely predictable disbursement of funds under multi-annual programmes. On the 7 of March officials from DFID met Koos Richelle (Director-General for European Aid) in Brussels and they will also be raising this issue. We will of course continue to monitor the timing and effectiveness of disbursements under the sugar protocol and make representations to the Commission for improvement when needed.

Departmental Contracts

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the  (a) nature and  (b) value was of all contracts, consultancies and other services placed with (i) Deloitte and Touche, (ii) Ernst and Young, (iii) KPMG, (iv) PricewaterhouseCoopers and (v) PA Consulting in each year since 2004-05 by his Department, its predecessor Department and its agencies.

Gareth Thomas: Central records indicate that the following amounts have been paid in total by BERR, and its predecessor DTI, to each of the companies in the following financial years:
	
		
			  £ 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 (to date) 
			 Deloitte and Touche 9,844,267 8,471,533 5,979,860 4,456,895 
			 Ernst and Young 1,926,463 2,988,557 2,221,127 1,048,151 
			 KPMG 2,985,984 3,035,393 609,247 528,614 
			 PWC 2,530,816 3,487,680 5,001,767 2,767,627 
			 PA Consulting 844,989 939,936 775,361 292,081 
		
	
	I have asked the chief executives of the executive agencies to respond directly to the hon. Member.
	Further information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Data Protection

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many of his Department's  (a) computers and  (b) laptops have been stolen in 2007; and what the value of those items was.

Gareth Thomas: The information is as follows:
	 (a) No computers have been stolen during 2007 to date.
	 (b) A total of eight BERR laptops have been stolen in 2007 based on our records to end of October. Their total value is £8,000.

Departmental ICT

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many  (a) mobile telephones,  (b) personal digital assistants and  (c) laptop computers issued to staff in his Department or its predecessor were reported (i) lost, (ii) missing and (iii) stolen in each year since 2001.

Gareth Thomas: A breakdown of the lost, stolen or missing items is provided in the following table for each of the years requested. It should be noted that some of the laptops and mobile telephones listed may have been personal items belonging to members of staff, which have been lost or stolen in the office.
	
		
			   Mobile phones  Laptops  PDAs 
			 2007 2 8 — 
			 2006 14 8 1 
			 2005 11 14 3 
			 2004 26 12 1 
			 2003 22 22 1 
			 2002 22 25 3 
			 2001 7 7 —

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether any of his Department's special advisers have outside also work for organisations outside his Department.

Gareth Thomas: The Department's special advisers do not have any appointments outside their departmental roles.
	Special advisers are appointed under terms and conditions set out in the "Model Contract for Special Advisers". Copies of the "Model Contract" are available in the Library of the House.

Departmental Publicity

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much his Department and its agencies spent on staff working on  (a) marketing and  (b) branding in the last 12-month period for which figures are available.

Gareth Thomas: BERR's strategic marketing team has overall responsibility for departmental marketing and branding. Based on figures for November 2007, the paybill for this team over 12 months would be approximately £670,000. A more detailed breakdown could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The Insolvency Service estimates its costs for staff working on marketing and branding in the last 12 months to be £5,000.
	Companies House estimates that in the last 12 months it has spent £700,635 on staff working on marketing and £32,000 on branding.
	UK Trade and Investment's pay costs for strategic marketing by its marketing group were approximately £590,000 for the period December 2006 to November 2007.

Industrial Diseases: Compensation

Michael Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many awards have been received by former miners or their widows under the Coal Industry Pneumoconiosis Scheme 1974 since 2004; and how many of them have also received an award under the Pneumoconiosis Etc. (Workers' Compensation) Act 1979.

Malcolm Wicks: Since 27 March 2004, when the British Coal Corporation was wound up, 3,021 awards have been made to former miners or their widows under the Coal Industry Pneumoconiosis Scheme.
	In the same period 397 payments have been made to these claimants under the 1979 Act administered by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Members: Correspondence

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he will reply to the letter dated 7 September 2007 from the hon. Member for Dundee, East, regarding a constituent, Mr. Lee Sexton, of Dundee.

Gareth Thomas: The hon. Member's letter was answered on 12 November 2007. I have arranged for a copy of the letter to be sent to his office.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority: Finance

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what proportion of the recent increase in the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority's current costs is related to dealing with the problems associated with high level waste management, as identified by the nuclear installations inspectorate in its June 2007 Quarterly Report on Sellafield.

Malcolm Wicks: In response to concerns raised by the nuclear installations inspectorate, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) requested the Site Licence Company to review the high-level waste management strategy. This review has resulted in additional scope of work valued in the region of £334 million. These additional costs were included in the £72.7 billion future cost estimates reported in the NDA annual report and accounts 2006-07 (page 103) and formed part of the £8 billion increase on the previous estimate of £64.8 billion.

Nuclear Power Stations: Finance

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the value is of the contract his Department has signed with UBS AG Bank for advice on the commercial and financial aspects of new nuclear power plants; when the contract was signed; and what its duration is.

Malcolm Wicks: UBS AG has been appointed to advise the Government on the realisation of their policy on new nuclear build, and started work in early March 2008. The terms of the appointment are confidential.

Nuclear Power: Security

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the security implications of developing new nuclear facilities in the United Kingdom, with reference to paragraph 4.89 of the National Security Strategy of the United Kingdom, Cm 7291.

Malcolm Wicks: Paragraphs 2.83 to 2.109 of our White Paper on Nuclear Power set out the assessment we have made and our reasons for concluding that the UK has an effective regulatory framework that ensures that safety, security, health and proliferation risks are minimised and sensibly managed by industry.

Nuclear Power: Security

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether vulnerabilities of  (a) nuclear installations and  (b) nuclear materials in transit were evaluated in drawing up the new National Security Strategy.

Malcolm Wicks: Our evaluation of these vulnerabilities, set out in paragraphs 2.83 to 2.115 of our White Paper on Nuclear Power, was taken into account in the preparation of the National Security Strategy.

Overseas Trade: Finance

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer of 21 February 2008,  Official Report, column 840W, on Overseas trade: Finance, how many overseas offices each agency maintains; and in which countries.

Patrick McFadden: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Hertford and Stortford (Mr. Prisk) on 20 March 2008,  Official Report, column 1290W.

Parliament: Postal Services

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the cost to Post Office Ltd is of operating the Crown post offices on the Parliamentary Estate.

Patrick McFadden: This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd (POL). I have therefore asked Alan Cook, Managing Director of POL, to reply directly to the hon. Member.
	Copies of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Post Offices: Closures

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in the European Union on subsidising post offices to minimise closures; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: The European Commission has given state aid clearance for the Government's funding package for the post office network. This includes subsidy payments to support the non-commercial part of the network.

Post Offices: Closures

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what account Post Office Ltd will take of the cost of individual sub-postmasters' contracts in deciding whether a post office should be closed.

Patrick McFadden: This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd (POL). I have therefore asked Alan Cook, managing director of POL, to reply to the hon. Member.
	Copies of this letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Post Offices: Closures

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what process will be followed by Post Office Ltd and his Department in determining a final list of post offices for closure.

Patrick McFadden: Final decisions on post office closures rest with Post Office Ltd. However, there is a four stage review process in place for Post Office Ltd and Postwatch to reach an agreed way forward by a bilateral review of individual closures. The review process is instigated by Postwatch if it appears that the company has not given due consideration to material evidence received during the public consultation in coming to its decision or where evidence emerges from consultation that the proposal for the branch does not meet the Government's policy requirements.

Post Offices: Closures

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps he is taking to ensure that Post Office Ltd investigates alternative courses of action, including renegotiation of contracts with sub-postmasters, in relation to post offices earmarked for closure.

Patrick McFadden: This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd (POL). I have therefore asked Alan Cook, Managing Director of POL, to reply directly to the hon. Member.
	Copies of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Post Offices: Closures

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps he is taking to ensure that Post Office Ltd will take account of planned housing development in areas where post offices are earmarked for closure; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd (POL). I have therefore asked Alan Cook, managing director of POL, to reply directly to the hon. Member.
	Copies of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Post Offices: Closures

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Post Office Ltd's economic model in identifying post offices for  (a) potential and  (b) final closure.

Patrick McFadden: Following the national consultation on the future of the post office network, the Government have set a framework of access criteria and other factors to be considered by Post Office Ltd in developing its proposals for post office closures at area plan level and subsequently reaching final decisions on them. Postwatch acts as the consumer voice in this area and it assesses whether, for an individual branch, Post Office Ltd has not given due consideration to material evidence received during the public consultation in coming to its decision, or evidence has emerged from the consultation that the proposal for the branch does not meet the Government's policy requirements. In these circumstances, Postwatch can trigger a review process to enable it and Post Office Ltd to reach an agreed way forward on the relevant branch.

Postcomm

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether he plans to alter the  (a) status and  (b) remit of Postcomm.

Patrick McFadden: Under the Postal Services Act 2000, Parliament established Postcomm as the independent regulator for postal services. Postcomm's primary statutory duty is to ensure provision of a universal postal service. Subject to this, Postcomm will exercise its functions in the manner which it considers is best calculated to further the interests of users of postal services, wherever appropriate by promoting effective competition between postal operators.
	The Government have commissioned Richard Hooper to lead an independent review of the postal services sector and how best to maintain the universal service. We will give careful consideration to all the panel's recommendations when it reports later this year.

Regional Development Agencies: Finance

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what Government funding streams are available to regional development agencies; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: The main sources of Government funding in 2007-08 for the nine English Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) are listed as follows.
	 Single Programme Budget
	Since April 2002, the RDAs have been financed through a Single Programme budget (the "Single Pot"). Money from the six contributing Departments (BERR, CLG, IUS, EFRA, CMS and UKTI) is pooled into one single budget. The funding, once allocated, is available to the RDAs in order to achieve the regional priorities identified in their regional economic strategies and the challenging targets set by them in their Corporate Plans. In 2007-08, the Single Pot allocated funding of £2.3 billion to the nine English RDAs.
	 European Regional Development Fund
	The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) was set up in 1975 to stimulate economic development in less prosperous regions of the European Union (EU). As EU membership has grown, ERDF has developed into a major instrument for helping to redress regional imbalances. Between 2007 and 2013, England will benefit from an investment of a further €3.2 billion (approximately £2.5 billion) of ERDF. The Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) manages ERDF in England and provides programme funding directly to the RDAs.
	 Rural Development Programme for England
	The Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) is a 7-year (2007-2013) EU programme that aims to safeguard and enhance the rural environment, improve the competitiveness of the agricultural and forestry sectors and foster competitive and sustainable rural businesses and thriving rural communities.
	The overall budget for the programme is approximately £3.9 billion. Some £600 million of this will be made available for socio-economic schemes aimed at making agriculture and forestry more competitive and sustainable, enhancing opportunity and the quality of life in rural areas, and diversifying the rural economy. This part of the RDPE is being delivered primarily by the RDAs.
	 Business Resource Efficiency  and Waste Programme (BREW)
	In line with the landfill tax back to business commitment, the Spending Review 2004 (SR2004) announced that the additional revenues will be used to fund programmes to support business in improving its resource efficiency, including waste minimisation and diversion from landfill. The RDAs have been given the responsibility of co-ordinating the programme at regional level. In 2007-08, DEFRA has provided funding of £10.9m through the Single Pot to the RDAs in respect of their programme.
	 Northern Way Growth Fund
	The Northern Way is collaboration, formed in 2004, between the three Northern RDAs of England (North West RDA, Yorkshire Forward and One NorthEast). Its aim was to work together to improve the sustainable economic development of the North towards the level of more prosperous regions in the UK. In 2007-08, CLG provided funding of £25.8 million to the RDAs, this being the remaining contribution from Government toward the £100 million Northern Way Growth Fund. BERR is now the lead Government Department for the Northern Way Growth Fund.
	 Social Enterprise Business Support
	In the Social Enterprise Action Plan the Office of the Third Sector announced it would provide £5.9 million to RDAs to improve Business Link's capacity to broker business support for social enterprises.

Renewable Energy: Finance

Adam Ingram: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much his Department received from the transfer of funds from the England and Wales fossil fuel levy for the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources in  (a) 2004-05,  (b) 2005-06,  (c) 2006-07 and  (d) 2007-08.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 25 March 2008
	The Department has received no transfer of funds from the England and Wales fossil fuel levy for these purposes. However, the Sustainable Energy Act 2003 provides a power for the Secretary of State to direct Ofgem to pay into the Consolidated Fund up to £60 million from funds paid to Ofgem and arising from the auctioning of renewable obligation certificates and electricity generated under non-fossil fuel obligation contracts. There is also a corresponding duty on the Secretary of State to spend a matching sum to promote the use of energy from renewable sources.
	£60 million was transferred to the Consolidated Fund in 2004-05 and formed part of the £500 million which Government have announced they would spend from 2002 on R and D and capital grants for emerging renewable and low carbon technologies.

Sales Methods

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps the Government have taken to protect consumers from aggressive selling techniques.

Gareth Thomas: holding answer 25 March 2008
	The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 will prohibit traders from engaging in unfair commercial practices, including aggressive selling techniques, towards consumers. A practice is considered aggressive if, through the use of harassment, coercion or undue influence, the average consumer's freedom of choice or conduct is significantly impaired, and this causes or is likely to cause him to take a different purchasing decision.
	The Regulations contain an illustrative list of factors to help determine whether a commercial practice uses harassment, coercion or undue influence.
	Draft Regulations, which implement the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (2005/29/EC), were laid before Parliament on 3 March. If approved in debate they will come into force on 26 May.

Television

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many plasma television screens have been purchased by his Department, its predecessor and its agencies, and at what cost, in the last 24 months.

Gareth Thomas: Over the past 24 months, my Department and its agencies have purchased one plasma television screen at a cost of £4,497.24.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Children: Asylum

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children sought asylum in the UK in each of the last 10 years.

Liam Byrne: I have been asked to reply.
	Information on asylum applications from principal applicants (since 2001) and dependants (since 2002) is available by age at time of application from the annual Statistical Bulletin Asylum Statistics United Kingdom. Information prior to these dates is not available. Copies of these publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
	Any children, under the age of 18, recorded as being principal asylum applicants may not necessarily be unaccompanied; they could for example be living with a relative who, in turn, may or may not have status in the UK.

Children: Mental Health

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the purpose of the Counterpoint Childhood Wellbeing research paper was; how much it cost; and what account will be taken of it during his Department's policy formulation process.

Beverley Hughes: The Department commissioned Counterpoint (UK) Limited to undertake research into Childhood Wellbeing in order to increase our understanding of parents' and children's perceptions of wellbeing and happiness, the factors that are significant to them, and their main sources of anxiety and of confidence. This work followed extensive public debate about the state of childhood today and provided insights into the attitudes of parents and children themselves, including their views on appropriate roles for Government, councils, schools and families in creating the right conditions for happy childhoods. The research cost £80,840 (including VAT). The outcomes have informed the Children's Plan, published in December 2007, and particularly the proposals for a new focus on improved opportunities for outdoor play. We will continue to draw on the research as we develop policies for implementing the Children's Plan to create better futures for children and families.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many people received education maintenance allowance in  (a) South Tyneside and  (b) England in each year since its inception.

Jim Knight: The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) operates the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and holds information about payments made under the scheme. Mark Haysom, the LSC's chief executive, has written to the hon. Member for Jarrow with the information requested and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.

Pupil Exclusions

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 1159-60W, on pupil exclusions, how many of the individuals recorded under the column  (a) number of fixed period exclusions, had previously been awarded a fixed period exclusion (i) one, (ii) two, (iii) three, (iv) four and (v) five times and  (b) number of permanent exclusions, had previously been excluded for a fixed period.

Kevin Brennan: holding answer 26 March 2008
	The requested information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Summary findings on permanent and fixed period exclusions during the 2005/06 school year were published in a Statistical First Release on 26 June at
	http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000733/index.shtml

Schools: Nurses

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of schools in each  (a) primary care trust and  (b) constituency have the services of a qualified school nurse in line with the 2004 National Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services; what steps he is taking to ensure that all schools have such services; and when he expects all schools to have the services of a qualified school nurse.

Ann Keen: holding answer 25 March 2008
	I have been asked to reply.
	Information is not collected centrally on how many and what proportion of schools in each primary care trust (PCT) and constituency have the services of a qualified school nurse.
	It is for PCTs in partnership with local authorities, strategic health authorities and other local stakeholders to determine how best to use their funds to meet national and local priorities for improving health, and to commission services accordingly. This process provides the means for addressing local needs within the health community including the provision of school nursing services.

Schools: Swimming

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools in  (a) St Albans,  (b) Hertfordshire and  (c) England offered swimming lessons to pupils in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: Swimming activities and water safety are a compulsory element of the National Curriculum for physical education in primary schools. Swimming lessons should be provided for all pupils as part of this. Schools can choose swimming activities and water safety as a programme of study in secondary schools.
	The annual PE and School Sport Survey was introduced in 2003/04 and collects data relating to participation in PE and school sport from schools in a School Sport Partnership. The proportion of primary, secondary and special schools that offered swimming during the academic year over the last four years is as follows:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   England  Hertfordshire  St. Albans 
			 2003/04 84  — 
			 2004/05 83  — 
			 2005/06 84 87 — 
			 2006/07 85 87 85 
		
	
	Further analysis could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Alcoholic Drinks: Licensing

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many alcohol licences have been revoked on the grounds of sale of alcohol to children since the implementation of the Licensing Act 2003.

Gerry Sutcliffe: This information is not held centrally.
	Statistical bulletins on licences to sell alcohol include the number of licences revoked, but do not indicate the reason for revocation. Licences may be revoked on review for one or more reasons relating to the four licensing objectives, including sales of alcohol to children.
	The first DCMS Statistical Bulletin on Alcohol, Entertainment and Late Night Refreshment, under the provisions of the Licensing Act 2003, was published on 8 November 2007. This shows that, between April 2006 and March 2007, there were 695 reviews which resulted in 92 licences being revoked and 91 being suspended (based upon a 85 per cent. response rate from licensing authorities).
	There were also 37 personal licences suspended or declared forfeit by the courts in 2006-07 (80 per cent. response rate). The loss of personal licence could relate to conviction for any one of a number of relevant offences, including the sale of alcohol to children.

Broadcasting: Technology

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will place in the Library copies of the minutes from the Emerging Technologies Group's meetings.

Andy Burnham: holding answer 20 March 2008
	 I am arranging for copies of the minutes from the Emerging Technologies Group's meetings to be placed in the House Libraries, with the commercially sensitive information removed.

Digital Broadcasting: Swansea

Alan Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps his Department is taking to ensure that advice about the Digital Switchover Help Scheme is given at an early stage of the conversion from analogue to digital television transmission in Swansea.

Andy Burnham: Digital UK is already actively raising awareness about digital switchover in Wales, through advertising and publicity, which lets people know there will be a help scheme for eligible people nearer the time of switchover.
	Specific regional help scheme advertising and publicity is planned for the period of eligibility, from about eight months before switchover, and will include advertising, local press articles, public awareness events and targeted communications for local third sector organisations for eligible people.
	Using DWP data and data provided by local authorities, the help scheme will write to every eligible person directly at least twice in the run-up to switchover, to invite them to take up the help offered through the scheme. Information about eligibility and what help is available through the scheme is also accessible on the Digital UK website and from its national helpline, and will shortly also be available from the switchover help scheme website and helpline which are being launched at the beginning of April.

Digital Broadcasting: Visually Impaired

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many blind and partially sighted people were helped as part of the digital changeover in Cumbria.

Andy Burnham: The BBC is responsible for operating the digital switchover help scheme. The help scheme is given access to data on people who are registered as blind and partially sighted from local authorities so as to be able to contact them directly. The help scheme also commissioned the West Cumbria Society for the Blind to contact its members to ensure their awareness of the help scheme.
	Respondents who take up the help scheme are not required to inform the scheme of the reason they are eligible or the nature of their disability, unless they wish to do so to aid it in delivering the service.
	I am therefore not able to supply the number of blind and partially sighted people who took up the help scheme in Cumbria.

European Broadcasting Union

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether his Department contributes  (a) funding and  (b) personnel to (i) the European Broadcasting Union and (ii) the Eurovision Song Contest; and if he will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport contributes no funding or personnel to the European Broadcasting Union or the Eurovision Song Contest.

Listed Buildings: Essex

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what his Department's role in conserving the Grade II listed building known as the State Cinema in Grays, Essex is; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 26 March 2008
	The role of my Department is to designate buildings of special architectural or historic interest by listing. Decisions about changes which affect their special interest are for the local planning authority, in consultation with English Heritage.
	This building, which is listed at grade II*, is included in the Buildings at Risk register maintained by English Heritage. English Heritage monitors its condition and had, in recent years, met its owners who were considering converting this former cinema to a new use. English Heritage has also been approached by the Cinema Theatre Association, which is interested in the possibility of reviving its use as a venue for performance.

Performing Arts

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what support his Department and its agencies give to competitive cheerleading.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Increasing inter and intra-school sporting opportunities is a key component of the National PE and Sport Strategy for Young People, which is delivered jointly by the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
	Since January 2008, the UK Cheerleading Association (UKCA) has been working in partnership with British Gymnastics to transfer their activities and become a new discipline of British Gymnastics.
	The UKCA is working with a number of School Sports Partnerships across the UK to develop cheerleading and 'street cheer' within school sport and dance. Together with other national governing bodies, the UKCA is helping to deliver the Government's PE and school sport strategy nationally, both by encouraging sustained participation and by providing leadership opportunities in schools and FE facilities.

Public Lending Right: Finance

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the cost of the public lending right was in each of the last five years for which figures are available; what it is projected to be in each of the next three years; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The public lending right (PLR) uses grant in aid funding from the DCMS to make compensatory payments to authors for the financial impact of free book loans provided through the public library system.
	Provision for the running costs of the organisation is included within this grant in aid settlement, and is allocated by the PLR before the remaining sum is distributed annually to authors.
	Over the next three years, the DCMS is committed to generating value for money (VFM) savings by delivering efficiencies in partnership with its sponsored bodies: the PLR has therefore agreed to deliver a 3 per cent. reduction in its administration costs in each of the years 2008-11, ensuring that the maximum possible percentage of the public funding received by the PLR is used to provide valuable financial support to authors.
	Costs to the Exchequer, in the form of total grant in aid allocated per annum; PLR administration spending for the period 1998-2008; and administration spending limits agreed with the PLR for the next three years are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  £ 
			   Total grant allocation  Administration spending  PLR to authors 
			 1997-98 4,921,000 673,000 4,248,116 
			 1998-99 5,000,000 841,000 4,158,527 
			 1999-2000 5,051,000 845,000 4,206,345 
			 2000-01 5,150,000 673,000 4,477,110 
			 2001-02 5,201,000 695,000 4,505,758 
			 2002-03 7,001,000 806,000 6,194,517 
			 2003-04 7,201,000 812,000 6,411,616 
			 2004-05 7,381,000 812,000 6,536,539 
			 2005-06 7,471,000 822,000 6,543,164 
			 2006-07 7,702,000 813,000 6,809,018 
			 2007-08 7,682,000 828,000 6,657,585 
			 2008-09 7,432,000 803,000 6,629,000 
			 2009-10 7,582,000 779,000 6,803,000 
			 2010-11 7,682,000 756,000 6,926,000

Tourism: Yorkshire and Humberside

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what initiatives his Department has to promote Yorkshire to international visitors.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 25 March 2008
	My Department has provided VisitBritain with funding of £49.9 million in 2007-08 to promote Britain as a whole as an attractive place to visit. Destinations and attractions in Yorkshire are included within VisitBritain's themed campaigns and are also featured on VisitBritain's websites, which contain detailed destination guides.
	The Department's funding agreement with VisitBritain requires them to achieve a specified proportion of additional expenditure by inbound visitors outside London. For 2005-06, the target was 55 per cent., and VisitBritain achieved 61 per cent. For 2006-07, the target was 54 per cent. and VisitBritain achieved 57 per cent.

VisitBritain: Finance

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the return on investment of spending by  (a) VisitBritain and  (b) VisitEngland in (i) 2005-06 and (ii) 2006-07.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 18 March 2008
	VisitBritain's method of calculating the return on its marketing investments was considered and approved by the National Audit Office in 2004. Since then, VisitBritain has moved increasingly from print-based promotion of the tourist industry to electronic marketing. This meant that new ways of measuring the return on investment were necessary, as the old methodology had begun to produce unrealistic results by 2005-06. With the agreement of DCMS, VisitBritain brought in new methodology for the start of 2006-07.
	VisitBritain's performance against its Funding Agreement targets was as follows:
	
		
			  International marketing of Britain 
			   Target  Achieved  Estimated tourist expenditure generated (£ billion) 
			 2005-06 30:1 54:1 1.906 
			 2006-07 30:1 31:1 1.095 
		
	
	
		
			  Domestic England marketing within Britain (advised by VisitEngland) 
			   Target  Achieved  Expenditure generated (£ million) 
			 2005-06 12:1 20:1 243.2 
			 2006-07 13:1 17:1 225.3 
		
	
	
		
			  England marketing in established European markets (advised by VisitEngland) 
			   Target  Achieved  Expenditure generated (£ million) 
			 2005-06 15:1 32:1 32.3 
			 2006-07 30:1 19:1 19.4

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence by whom each soldier killed during the 1st Battalion The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment/2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment's recent operational tour in Helmand Province was replaced in the order of battle.

Bob Ainsworth: I will write to the hon. Member.
	 Substantive answer from Bob Ainsworth to Patrick Mercer:
	I undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Question on 7 January 2008,  Official Report, column 20W, about replacements for soldiers killed during the 1st Battalion The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment/2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment's recent operational tour in Helmand Province.
	As you are aware, I set out the Army's policy on battle casualty replacement in my answer to you on 7 January 2008,  Official Report, column 50W.
	Officials have spent some time examining your request and exploring potential ways of providing the information you seek, including discussions with the Unit. Unfortunately, however, this has proved impossible. Unlike in previous conflicts, our policy is not to identify individual replacements. Units are not, therefore, required to identify those individuals who replace colleagues who are injured or killed. Rapid replacement in theatre would in any event make this extremely difficult to track.
	I am placing a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what reports he has received on the incident involving the International Security Assistance Force and Afghan police in Lashkar Gah on 20th March 2008, which is being investigated by Royal Military Police.

Des Browne: holding answer 26 March 2008
	I have received an initial report regarding this incident, which is currently subject to investigation. It would be inappropriate to comment further while the investigation is continuing.

Aircraft Carriers

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of security scenario planning in which the proposed aircraft carriers were deemed to be an essential part of the UK's response; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: Future Carrier, as an integral part of the Carrier Strike capability, contributes to a number of planning scenarios, the details of which I am withholding as their release would, or would be likely to, prejudice the defence of the United Kingdom. The 2004 "Future Capabilities" White Paper noted that aircraft carriers contribute to medium-scale intervention and large-scale operations, though they are a very flexible platform which also provides wider utility.

Armed Conflict: EC Action

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Treaty of Lisbon affects the UK's capacity to take unilateral military action.

Des Browne: No. The provisions on the Common Security and Defence Policy in the Lisbon Treaty do not change the fundamental nature of the Common Foreign and Security Policy under the current Treaty on European Union (TEU). As under the TEU, individual member states will not be constrained from conducting their own foreign policy, including a decision to undertake unilateral military action.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK personnel are deployed on operations, broken down by location.

Bob Ainsworth: The following table shows the number of UK service personnel deployed on operations by location at 10 March 2008. The number of personnel in theatre will naturally fluctuate on a daily basis for a variety of reasons, including leave (rest and recuperation), temporary absence for training, evacuation for medical reasons, the roulement of forces and other factors.
	
		
			  P ersonnel deployed by location( 1) 
			  Location  Number 
			 Total 13,460 
			 of which:  
			 Afghanistan 7,600 
			 Iraq 3,800 
			 At Sea 710 
			 Qatar 410 
			 Cyprus 280 
			 Kuwait 260 
			 Oman 190 
			 Kosovo 130 
			 Bahrain 70 
			 Bosnia 10 
			 Other 30 
			 (1) Countries with 10 or more personnel are shown separately. Other countries with fewer than 10 personnel per country include Georgia, Nepal, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Democratic Republic of Congo and Liberia.

Armed Forces: Postal Services

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many instances of mail lost in transit between military personnel and their families were recorded in each month of 2007.

Bob Ainsworth: The number of claims for compensation paid by the MOD for non-delivered and damaged mail for each month of 2007 was as follows:
	
		
			  Month  Number of claims compensation paid 
			 January 74 
			 February 55 
			 March 32 
			 April 95 
			 May 62 
			 June 80 
			 July 72 
			 August 32 
			 September 80 
			 October 59 
			 November 42 
			 December 12

Armed Forces: Public Transport

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will bring forward proposals for a scheme to enable members of HM Armed Forces to travel free on public transport when wearing uniform.

Bob Ainsworth: It would be inappropriate for the MOD to make any specific recommendations regarding free use of public transport for military personnel, as this is a matter for individual public transport providers.
	However, the Government are currently examining the wider issue of the provision of services to our armed forces personnel under the Service Personnel Command Paper and the nation's relationship with the armed forces under the National Recognition study carried out by my hon. Friend the Member for Grantham and Stamford's (Mr. Davies).

Armed Forces: Vehicles

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) helicopters,  (b) vehicles and  (c) fixed-wing aircraft were lost under enemy fire in each year since 2003, broken down by model.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 19 March 2008
	 One Lynx helicopter was lost to enemy fire in Iraq in 2006.
	A total of three Hercules aircraft have been lost, one in Iraq in 2005, one in Afghanistan in 2006 and the third in Iraq in 2007.
	One Harrier aircraft was lost in Afghanistan in 2005.
	I am withholding detailed information regarding the numbers and types of land vehicles lost to enemy fire as its release would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, security or effectiveness of the armed forces.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  where the initial request came from to supply additional Supercat M-WMIK vehicles; when that request became an order; and what function these future vehicles will perform;
	(2)  what the reasons are for the increased cost of the new Supercat M-WMIK order;
	(3)  how many Supercat M-WMIKs had been supplied prior to the current orders for 130 and 72; and at what unit price.

Bob Ainsworth: The Mobility Weapon Mount Installation Kit (M-WMIK) was identified as a solution in spring 2007, to meet a request from commanders in Afghanistan for an enhanced WMIK vehicle to complement the Land Rover based WMIK fleet. The M-WMIK will provide mobility for battle group support weapons and offers high levels of agility coupled with considerable firepower. The initial contract was signed in July 2007.
	I am not aware of increased costs; this is the first time we have procured the M-WMIK vehicle. Some specialist users possess vehicles based on the same Supacat chassis, but the costs of these were broadly similar.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent modifications have been made to the main armament of the Challenger II tank for training purposes.

Bob Ainsworth: There have been no recent modifications to the main armament of Challenger 2 (CR2). In June 2006, however, we brought into service a new Live Fire Crew Training System to provide realistic CR2 crew training using a removable barrel insert and smaller calibre rounds.

Army: Manpower

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the required strength of army officers is in each of the categories  (a) 1/(D),  (b) 1,  (c) 2,  (d) 3,  (e) 4,  (f) 5 and  (g) 6 to 9.

Bob Ainsworth: The categories referred to are the NATO categorisations used to identify equivalent ranks across the armed forces. The current permanent liability (required strength) for Regular Army officers, for each category is split between direct entry officers, i.e. those who join the Army as officers, and late entry officers, who are promoted from the non-commissioned ranks:
	
		
			  NATO rank  Army rank  Direct entry  Late entry 
			 OF7+ Major General to General 64 — 
			 OF6 Brigadier 174 — 
			 OF5 Colonel 535 — 
			 OF4 Lieutenant Colonel 1,664 79 
			 OF3 Major 3,375 909 
			 OF2 Captain 3,331 1,569 
			 OF1 Second Lieutenant and Lieutenant 1,777 0 
			 OF1 (Des) — (1)660 
			 (1)OF1 (Des) are officers under training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

AWE Aldermaston: Protest

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make arrangements to enable the making of peaceful protests at Aldermaston Atomic Weapons Establishment; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: The MOD recognises the democratic right of individuals to participate in lawful and peaceful protest activities. Such activities have taken place at AWE for many years, and there are well-rehearsed plans in place to ensure minimum disruption and to allow peaceful protests to occur. Safety and security at AWE are paramount. Any protester action that could compromise these will always be dealt with appropriately. There were demonstrations at AWE as recently as 24 March and Thames Valley Police subsequently congratulated the organisers for organising an effective and peaceful demonstration.

Defence

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many urgent operational requirements are under consideration; and what estimate he has made of the total value of such requirements.

Bob Ainsworth: Some 800 UORs have been approved to date; a further 120 are under consideration. To date, the value of UORs approved for Iraq and Afghanistan is in excess of £3.5 billion. The costings for UORs that have not yet been approved are not mature enough to provide an accurate estimate.

EC Common Foreign and Security Policy

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements are planned for liaison between his Department and the office of the high representative of the Union for foreign affairs and security policy.

Des Browne: If the Lisbon Treaty is ratified by all EU member states, the Ministry of Defence will liaise with the office of the high representative of the Union for foreign affairs and security policy through our permanent and military representation to the European Union, as we currently do with the office of the high representative for the common foreign and security policy.

EC Defence Policy

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what burden-sharing arrangements are planned for civilian and military assets for EU defence under the Lisbon Treaty.

Des Browne: Under the Lisbon Treaty, both civilian and military assets for European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) operations would continue to be supplied by EU member states on a voluntary basis, as they are under the current Treaty on European Union.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19 March 2008,  Official Report, column 1171W, regarding the funding of ESDP operations under the Lisbon Treaty.

Iran: Defence Equipment

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the financial value of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines equipment which remains in the possession of the Iranian authorities.

Des Browne: The financial value of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines equipment which remains in the possession of the Iranian authorities from the two incidents in 2004 and 2007 is approximately £500,000 in each case. This corrects the previous replacement costs I provided on 26 April 2007,  Official Report, column 1253W, for the hon. Members for Portsmouth, South (Mr. Hancock) and for New Forest, East (Dr. Lewis) which included the estimated replacement coast of only one Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces were withdrawn from Iraq in each year since 2003, broken down by  (a) sex,  (b) age and  (c) service; what plans he has to increase members withdrawn in each of the next 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: During major combat operations in March-April 2003, there were some 46,000 UK military personnel committed to Operation TELIC (including those stationed outside Iraq in support of the operation). Subsequently, the number of UK military posts in Iraq decreased to 18,000 by May 2003. Year on year troop reductions beyond that point are set out in the following table:
	
		
			  January each year  Approximate UK troop level  Reduction from previous year 
			 2004 8,500 (1)9,500 
			 2005 8,000 500 
			 2006 8,000 0 
			 2007 7,100 900 
			 2008 4,300 2,800 
			 (1) From May 2003 
		
	
	There are currently around 4,200 UK military personnel in Iraq, of whom around 4,000 are based in southern Iraq. The actual number of UK military personnel in theatre varies significantly from day to day for a variety of reasons, including leave (rest and recuperation), temporary absence for training, evacuation for medical reasons, visits, the roulement of forces and other factors.
	Accurate information on the total number of personnel broken down by sex, age and service is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Work continues on the details of our future plans in consultation with our coalition partners and the Government of Iraq. For this reason, we are unable to provide a month-by-month projection for each of the next 12 months. Our plans will, of course, be guided by the advice of our military commanders and are subject to conditions on the ground.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people serving in the British forces in Iraq hold  (a) British citizenship and  (b) citizenship of countries other than Great Britain; and how many personnel there are of each nationality in the latter.

Des Browne: Data on the number and citizenship of service personnel serving in Iraq are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Reserve Forces

Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the role is of formed units in the reserve forces; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: Reserves in formed units, such as Territorial Army (TA) Battalions and Regiments, and Royal Auxilliary Air Force Squadrons, are in most cases maintained to provide a framework which parallels their Regular equivalent, as over the years this has been shown as the most effective and robust method of providing a framework, upon which reservist capability can be recruited, grown, nurtured and trained.
	In the case of the TA, it is the basis from which capability can be deployed on operations. Where possible, the Army tries to deploy TA personnel in 'cohorts', groups drawn from units listed on the commitments forecast. However, the current operational requirement dictates that TA capability is deployed variously as individual reinforcements, as formed sub-units and only in some exceptional cases—particularly field hospitals—as formed units. For a large-scale operation a greater proportion of the TA would be deployed as formed sub-units and units, although the latter would still be the exception.
	For the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, Squadrons are established for peacetime training purposes only. For the Royal Naval Reserve and Royal Marine Reserve, there are no units formed for operational deployment; they are administrative groupings only. Individuals, within them would deploy as reinforcements to other units.
	On 19 March 2008, the Secretary of State announced a review of our Reserve Forces. This will examine how the Reserve can be optimised to meet current and projected defence requirements.

Warships

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to commission a fifth Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship to provide the maximum sea-lift capability recommended in his Department's 1998 operational analysis; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: The modernisation of the Royal Navy's amphibious fleet was completed in 2007 with the introduction into service of RFA Lyme Bay, the fourth of the Bay class Landing Ships Dock (Auxiliary). We have no plans to procure a fifth vessel of this class.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Ministerial Policy Advisers

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Broxbourne, of 18 February 2008,  Official Report, column 119W, on ministerial policy advisers 
	(1)  if he will provide figures for special advisers separately from the figures in the Annual Report of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments on Crown servants;
	(2)  which special advisers have  (a) received approval from and  (b) been refused by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments to take up an outside appointment on leaving office since May 2005.

Edward Miliband: Under the "Rules on the Acceptance of Outside Appointments by Crown Servants", the independent Advisory Committee on Business Appointments advises on the approval of applications from the most senior civil servants, including special advisers of equivalent standing. Once a new appointment has been taken up or announced, the Committee publishes information on the application and the advice it gave on it.
	Since May 2005, the Advisory Committee has published such information about the appointments of two Special Advisers: Jonathan Powell and Elizabeth Lloyd.
	Applications from civil servants, including special advisers, below these levels are dealt with by their employing Departments.
	Departments provide collated data annually for publication in the statistical tables of the Advisory Committee's annual reports on the total number of applications they have received, including those subsequently referred to the Committee. These figures show the numbers that were approved unconditionally or approved subject to a condition.
	The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments does not intend to collect or publish any additional data on applications under the Rules.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Political Parties: Finance

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what criteria are used by the Electoral Commission in deciding whether to refer to the police late declarations of donations to regulated donees.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that, in deciding whether to refer to the police the late reporting of donations by regulated donees, it takes into account, in the first instance, the sufficiency of the evidence and, if that threshold is met, whether it is in the public interest to refer the matter, having due regard to the proportionality of the case.

Political Parties: Finance

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the reasons were for the referral by the Electoral Commission of the right hon. Member for Neath to the police for late declaration of donations.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that this matter is the subject of an ongoing police investigation. It would therefore be inappropriate for me to comment on it.

Political Parties: Finance

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what steps have been taken by the Electoral Commission in response to late declarations of donations by  (a) the right hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam and  (b) the hon. Member for Henley.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that, in line with its usual procedures, it has checked these donations for permissibility and has published the details on its website. It has also written to the right hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam (Mr. Clegg) and the hon. Member for Henley (Mr. Johnson) regarding their failure to report these donations on time.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Waste Disposal

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans the Government have to place a levy on the purchase of farm plastic.

Joan Ruddock: The Government have no plans to introduce a levy on farm plastics. However, we intend to consult on proposals to deliver a statutory producer responsibility scheme for the collection of non-packaging farm plastics in late spring 2008.

Climate Change

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will request the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to ensure that all bodies which submit scientific data to the panel publish their data correction methodologies; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The preparation of all IPCC reports and publications follows strict procedures (available on the IPCC website), and reviews by Governments and experts are essential elements of the preparation of IPCC reports, commenting on the accuracy and completeness of the content and the overall balance of the drafts. Differing views for which there is significant scientific or technical support are clearly reflected in final IPCC documents.
	The IPCC does not commission research or undertake data analysis but reviews peer-reviewed scientific literature. As such, the process of ensuring data analysis and correction techniques are robust and available to the scientific community is not the responsibility of the IPCC but that of the research community itself and the editors of the scientific journals that ultimately publish the body of research that informs the IPCC reviews.

Eaga

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what contracts there are between his Department and Eaga;
	(2)  how many complaints his Department has received about work carried out under the Warm Front Scheme.

Phil Woolas: DEFRA currently holds one contract with Eaga plc, which is to perform the duties of Scheme Manager for the Warm Front Scheme.
	Between 1 June 2005 and 13 March 2008 the number of complaints received by Warm Front was 7,614 from a total of 600,000 households.
	2,870 of these complaints were upheld. This represents 0.48 per cent. of all households assisted.

Energy: Housing

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to encourage owners of existing housing stock to improve their energy performance rating.

Phil Woolas: DEFRA is taking action to reduce emissions from housing through a number of initiatives such as Warm Front, the Energy Efficiency Commitment (the next phase of which will be called Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT), the ActOnCO2 carbon calculator, and the Energy Saving Trust's Energy Efficiency Best Practice Programme for Homes and its newly announced Green Homes Service.

Fisheries: Compensation

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps have been taken by his Department to provide for compensation to inshore fishermen whose fishing grounds are affected by the construction of offshore wind farms; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: Compensation is a commercial matter and not for Government intervention. Wind farm developers engage directly with local fishing associations to agree a fair compensation package when their proposed developments are likely to have an impact on local fishermen.
	Before any construction can commence, however, wind farm developers have to obtain a range of licences and consents. These include a licence under the Food and Environment Protection Act (FEPA) from the Marine and Fisheries Agency (MFA).
	The MFA will assess the impact of the proposed development on local fishing grounds before deciding whether to issue a FEPA licence. If a licence is granted, it will include a range of conditions to protect the marine environment, including fisheries. Some of these will be site specific. However, all licences stipulate that a suitably qualified fisheries liaison officer be appointed to maintain effective communications between fishermen, the licence holder and contractors.

Pollution Control: Construction

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the quantity of ozone-depleting substances in building; and what amount of ozone-depleting emissions has come from this source since 2000.

Phil Woolas: The UK does not hold any reliable figures for the quantity of ozone-depleting substances found in insulating foams which are used in the building sector.

Pollution Control: Construction

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to implement EC Regulation 2037/2000 as it applies to the disposal of ozone-depleting substances found in foam in buildings.

Phil Woolas: DEFRA has had recent discussions with industry experts about the scope for greater recovery and destruction of ozone-depleting substances found in building foams. Recovery of ozone-depleting substances from building foams is one of the issues being considered as part of a wider review by the European Commission of EC Regulation 2037/2000.

Seas and Oceans: Environment Protection

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 5 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1278W, which marine protected areas were not included in the list of areas provided but counted within the total of 180 sites reported in the Government's response to the Science and Technology Committee report Investigating the Oceans HC (2006-07) 470.

Jonathan R Shaw: The information supplied to the Science and Technology Committee on around 180 marine protected areas differs from that given in the answer of 5 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1278W, because of ambiguity in the definition of what constitutes a 'marine' site.
	Habitats are considered to be 'marine' if they are covered (continuously or intermittently) by the sea. However, terrestrial sites can also be considered to have marine elements and interpretation of this criterion may lead to differences in reported figures.

Tree Preservation Orders: Guildford

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1130W, on tree preservation orders: Guildford, if he will place in the Library a copy of the letter of comfort produced by his Department in relation to disposal of the Epsom Road site.

Joan Ruddock: In my answer of 25 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1130W, no mention was made of a comfort letter in respect of Tree Preservation Orders. However, if following the identification by the council of those trees from the joint survey considered worthy of protection, the Department considers such a letter necessary for the interim preservation of trees pending the sale, I see no reason not to publish said letter in the House of Commons Library.

JUSTICE

Alternatives to Prison

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice who  (a) funds and  (b) runs community-based options for substance misuse as alternatives to custody sentences.

David Hanson: Combined funding from the Department of Health, Home Office and Ministry of Justice known as the pooled treatment budget (PTB) for drug treatment services is allocated annually to drug action team partnerships (DATs). Funding from PTB allocations is supplemented by mainstream funding from the national health service.
	The Ministry of Justice contribution (£22 million in the current financial year) pays for the treatment and testing required to deliver the drug rehabilitation requirement (DRR) which is the main delivery route for drug interventions within community sentences and is one of 12 requirements available as part of a community order. The overall sentence is supervised and delivered by the national probation service. The treatment is commissioned locally in partnership with the drug action teams (DATs) and is delivered by a range of voluntary and public-sector treatment providers. The national probation service also delivers accredited cognitive behavioural programmes for substance misusers.
	Drug action teams receive additional funding—some £110 million in 2008-09—from the Home Office to support delivery of the Drug Interventions Programme (DIP). DIP works with drug-misusing offenders to move them out of crime and into treatment. While the programme is not a formal alternative to custody its emphasis is on working with offenders, particularly in the community, from their earliest point of contact with the criminal justice system.

Courts: Security

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what minimum level of training is required for security staff in courts; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: Security in courts is provided by designated court security officers, appointed by the Lord Chancellor who devolves this power to the Chief Executive of Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS).
	The training requirements for court security officers is set out in the Court Security Officers (Designation) Regulations 2005 which were made by the Lord Chancellor exercising the powers conferred on him by section 51 of the Courts Act 2003.
	Under these regulations, before a person is designated as a court security officer, he must provide evidence that he has completed training courses in the following:
	 (a) the duties and powers of a court security officer;
	 (b) risk assessment;
	 (c) safe working practices;
	 (d) managing stress when dealing with threatening situations; and
	 (e) techniques for restraining a person and removing them from the building.
	In addition, security staff in courts are required to follow the guidance provided in the security policy document of Her Majesty's Courts Service: Safe and Secure. This sets out the minimum standards for security in courts according to the function of the separate areas within each building.

Departmental Consultants

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much has been spent by his Department in 2007-08 on  (a) consultants and  (b) agency staff.

Maria Eagle: Expenditure with external consultants since the Ministry of Justice was established on 9 May 2007 is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, from April 2007 until September 2007, the former Department for Constitutional Affairs and those bodies that were formerly part of the Home Office and are now part of the Ministry of Justice spent £5.5 million on external consultants.
	The use of agency staff is devolved to separate business areas within the Ministry of Justice. The following table provides a breakdown of the most current figures held by organisation:
	
		
			  Organisation  Period  Value (£) 
			 Former DCA April 2007 to February 2008 10,600,000 
			 HM Prison Service April 2007 to February 2008 10,800,000 
			 NOMS April 2007 to December 2007 1,200,000 
			 OCJR April 2007 to January 2008 112,000

Departmental Data Protection

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether confidential or personal information has been compromised through the loss of property from his Department since 1997.

Michael Wills: Except in exceptional cases, when it is in the public interest, it has been the policy of successive Governments not to comment on breaches of security. However, following the publication of the Data Handling Procedures in Government: Interim Progress Report on 17 December 2007,  Official Report, column 98WS, all Departments will cover information assurance issues in their annual reports.

Departmental Empty Property

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many vacant properties his Department owns; how many of these have been vacant for longer than  (a) three months,  (b) six months and  (c) 12 months; and what the value of each property is.

Maria Eagle: The Ministry owns one property that has been vacant for longer than three months, three that have been vacant for longer than six months and four that have been vacant for longer than 12 months. The estimated value of each property is set out as follows.
	
		
			  Value (£) 
			  Property  Vacant >3 months <6months  Vacant >6 months <12 months  Vacant >12 months 
			 1 200,000 — — 
			 2 — 600,000 — 
			 3 — 1,175,000 — 
			 4 — 235,000 — 
			 5 — — 360,000 
			 6 — — 2,004,400 
			 7 — — 800,000 
			 8 — — 182,000 
		
	
	All the properties are non-residential and are vacant awaiting sale. They are owned by Her Majesty's Court Service.
	In addition, the Prison Service owns residential properties. The number of vacancies varies but it is estimated to be between 25 and 30 at any one time and they are disposed of as soon as is practicable. Details of vacancies are not held centrally. Each individual prison establishment would need to be contacted to establish the exact number of vacancies, which would be at disproportionate cost to the Ministry.

Departmental ICT

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2008,  Official Report, columns 1203-4W, on departmental ICT, when he expects to publish the detailed and assured delivery plans.

Maria Eagle: An announcement on the delivery plan for Prison NOMIS project is expected by the end of April following the conclusion of commercial negotiations which are currently under way. Delivery plans for the other NOMIS programme constituent projects will follow after commercial negotiations specific to them are complete.

Departmental Pensions

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what percentage of staff in his Department were making additional voluntary contributions to their pensions in each of the last two years.

Maria Eagle: The Ministry of Justice was created on 9 May 2007.
	In February 2007, 32,589 staff were employed in the former Department for Constitutional Affairs, including the Adjudicator to HM Land Registry (staff), the Judicial Appointments Commission and the Legal Services Ombudsman. A total of 175 staff were contributing to recognised Additional Voluntary Contribution, partnership and stakeholder pension schemes. This total represents 0.54 per cent. of employees.
	In February 2008, the Ministry of Justice—including HM Prison Service, the National Offender Management Service, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board, the Youth Justice Board, the Parole Board, the Office for Criminal Justice Reform and the National Probation Service employed 87,897 staff, of which 875 staff were contributing to recognised Additional Voluntary Schemes, partnership and stakeholder pension schemes. This total represents 0.99 per cent. of employees.

Marriage: Wales

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when legislative changes to eligibility for marriage in the Church of England will be implemented in Wales.

Michael Wills: Changes to the rules on where people can marry in the Church of Wales are a matter for that Church to propose. The Church in Wales is disestablished and a separate member of the Anglican Communion from the Church of England. Church of England Measures cannot extend to the Church in Wales.

Offenders: Deportation

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of foreign nationals sentenced to custody was recommended by the sentencing court for deportation on completion of sentence in each of the last 10 years.

David Hanson: Information on what proportion of foreign nationals sentenced to custody were recommended by the sentencing court for deportation on completion of their sentence in each of the last 10 years is not available.
	However, over 4,200 foreign national prisoners have been removed or deported from the UK in 2007.

Offenders: Employment Schemes

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how much was spent on providing employment programmes for offenders  (a) in custody and  (b) serving community sentences in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what funding has been allocated for the provision of employment programmes for offenders  (a) in custody and  (b) serving community sentences for 2008-09, broken down by funding source; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: Improving the skills and employment outcomes for offenders is one of our key objectives for reducing reoffending, and our priorities for action are set out in the 'Reducing Re-Offending through Skills and Employment: Next Steps' plan. The Ministry of Justice works closely with the Departments for Innovation, Universities and Skills and for Work and Pensions to take this forward.
	We recently published a Prison Policy Update briefing paper which set out our intention to increase the range of employment programmes available to offenders inside prison. This will be done in partnership with the private, public and voluntary sectors, which generally fund the work or training programme delivered. Individual prisons may need to cover the cost of setting up the programme, but this information is not held centrally.
	Similarly, offenders in the community are given opportunities to carry out unpaid work with private, public and voluntary sector employers. Probation areas may need to cover the costs of establishing the relationships with employers, but this information is not held centrally.
	In addition to these links with employers, offenders have access to DWP programmes aimed at getting disadvantaged groups into employment such as New Deal and Progress2Work. Information about these programmes is offered via Jobcentre Plus advisers, including in prisons through their employment and benefit advisers.

Offenders: Rehabilitation

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how much was spent on providing resettlement programmes for offenders  (a) in custody and  (b) serving community sentences in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what funding has been allocated for the provision of resettlement programmes for offenders  (a) in custody an d (b) serving community sentences for 2008-09, broken down by funding source; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The funding for the delivery of providing resettlement programmes is part of establishment baselines, so it is not possible to accurately disaggregate the cost of this work. Governors and area managers may allocate funds from their budgets to support local initiatives or partnerships with outside organisations or the voluntary sector to address particular needs, but this information is not recorded centrally.

Offenders: Rehabilitation

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was spent on providing drug and alcohol treatment for offenders  (a) in custody and  (b) serving community sentences in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Drug treatment funding allocated to prisons in England and Wales over the past 10 years is shown in the following table. Prison funding used specifically for alcohol treatment is not separated from overall drug treatment funding.
	
		
			   Prison drug treatment( l)  (£ million) 
			 1989-99 (2)7.3 
			 1999-2000 12.6 
			 2000-01 16.5 
			 2001-02 27.3 
			 2002-03 28.7 
			 2003-04 37.7 
			 2004-05 51.1 
			 2005-06 60.7 
			 2006-07 78.1 
			 2007-08 79.8 
			 (1 )This includes clinical interventions (detoxification and maintenance prescribing), CARATs (Counselling, Assessment, Referral, Advice and Throughcare service), YPSMS (Young People's Substance Misuse Services) and intensive drug rehabilitation programmes.  (2) Indicative. 
		
	
	Some primary care trusts supplement central allocations with some local funding for clinical services. However, this information is not recorded centrally.
	Provision for the treatment and rehabilitation of offenders with drug misuse problems under the National Probation Service's supervision is primarily delivered through the Drug Rehabilitation Requirement (DRR), which has replaced the Drug Treatment and Testing Order (DTTO). The Ministry of Justice contributes to the Pooled Treatment Budget to pay for the treatment and testing for these orders. Probation areas are also funded to provide the supervision and enforcement of these orders. Before the introduction of the DTTO in 2000, treatment and rehabilitation for drug misusing offenders was commissioned at the local probation area level and was not recorded centrally.
	Provision for the treatment and rehabilitation of offenders with alcohol misuse problems under the National Probation Service's supervision is commissioned at the local probation area level and is not recorded centrally.
	A breakdown of funding for DTTOs/DRRs is shown in the following table. The treatment is commissioned locally in partnership with the drug action teams and is delivered by a range of voluntary and public sector treatment providers. We do not centrally record what proportion of each DAT's budget is specifically spent on Drug Rehabilitation Requirements.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Amount paid to pooled treatment budget to fund DTTO/DRR treatment and testing in England  Allocation to probation areas to fund DTTO/DRR supervision and enforcement costs in England and full DTTO/DRR costs in Wales 
			 2000-01 (1)20 
			 2001-02 14.8 21.2 
			 2002-03 20 16 
			 2003-04 29.7 24 
			 2004-05 (2)42 34 
			 2005-06 42 39 
			 2006-07 42 39 
			 2007-08 42 39 
			 (1) £20 million was made available to probation areas in England and Wales to fund DTTOs from October 2000 -March 2001 before the establishment of the Pooled Treatment Budget. (2) The contribution to the PTB includes £20 million permanent transfer to the Department of Health and an annual uplift of £22 million.

Offenders: Rehabilitation

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what funding has been allocated for the provision of drug and alcohol treatment for offenders  (a) in custody and  (b) serving community sentences for 2008-09, broken down by funding source; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: The following table shows indicative funding for prison drug treatment funding for 2008-09 by source. Figures may be subject to change.
	Some additional clinical drug treatment funding for prisons may be sourced locally by primary care trusts, but this information is not recorded centrally.
	Funding for alcohol treatment is not separated from overall drug treatment funding.
	
		
			  £ million 
			  Drug/Alcohol Treatment Intervention  Source  Allocation 2008-09 
			 Clinical Services (detoxification/maintenance prescribing) Primary Care Trusts (Department of Health) 35.7 
			 CARATs(l)/Drug Rehabilitation Programmes Ministry of Justice 51.1 
			 Young People's Substance Misuse Service (YPSMS) Ministry of Justice 4.3 
			 Total  91.1 
			 (1) Counselling, Assessment, Referral, Advice and Throughcare service. 
		
	
	Provision for the treatment and rehabilitation of offenders with drug misuse problems under the National Probation Service's supervision is primarily delivered through the Drug Rehabilitation Requirement (DRR), which has replaced the Drug Treatment and Testing Order (DTTO). The Ministry of Justice expects to contribute £22 million in 2008-09 to the Pooled Treatment Budget (PTB) (in addition to a £20 million permanent transfer to the Department of Health) to pay for the treatment and testing for these orders. Probation areas are also broadly expected to spend £39 million to provide the supervision and enforcement of these orders.
	For offenders who are not sentenced to a specific drug misuse requirement as part of their community order, but who want or need to access treatment, referral to community drug services/clinical treatment is carried out on a voluntary basis. Offenders will have to access local treatment services on the same basis as the rest of the population, and we do not centrally record the cost of each offender on the probation caseload who accesses treatment in this way.
	Provision for the treatment and rehabilitation of offenders with alcohol misuse problems under the National Probation Service's supervision is commissioned at local probation area level and is not recorded centrally. In particular, probation areas' ability to deliver alcohol treatment as part of a community sentence depends largely on the nature and extent of provision commissioned by local primary care trusts (PCTs) as part of NHS provision. In addition, the Ministry of Justice will be making seed funding available to probation areas to identify, support and disseminate best practice in working with alcohol misusers, although the exact sum has yet to be finalised.

Prison Accommodation

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners were  (a) doubling up in cells designed for one and  (b) trebling up in cells designed for two on the latest date for which figures are available.

Maria Eagle: At the end of February, 19,382 prisoners were reported as being doubled up in cells certified to hold one person and 1,207 prisoners were reported as being trebled up in cells certified to hold two people.

Prison Sentences

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will publish the  (a) original and  (b) revised algorithm on the ICA1 form as referred to in Prison Service Instruction 07/2008.

Maria Eagle: The revision to the algorithm on the ICA1 form takes account of prisoners serving indeterminate sentences for public protection with short tariffs of three years and under. The revised algorithm for allocation of such prisoners means that, unless a risk assessment indicates otherwise, these prisoners will be assessed as Category C and allocated to the Category C training estate. Here they will be able to access a wider range of offending behaviour programmes. Copies of the original and revised forms will be placed in the Library.

Prisoners: Dorchester Prison

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners at HMP Dorchester  (a) self-harmed,  (b) committed suicide and  (c) died of (i) natural and (ii) unnatural causes in each of the last 52 weeks for which figures are available.

Maria Eagle: Information about self-harm cannot be provided in the requested format. However, there have been an estimated 53 incidents of self-harm at HMP Dorchester in the last 52 weeks.
	There has been one death at HMP Dorchester in the last 52 weeks and that was self-inflicted.

Prisoners: Mentally Ill

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of the prison population have been held in  (a) NHS and  (b) independent sector mental healthcare places in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: I have been asked to reply.
	The latest available statistics, as shown in the following table, show that the following numbers of prisoners were transferred from prison custody to hospital in the years between 1997 and 2006:
	
		
			   Number 
			 1997 746 
			 1998 739 
			 1999 731 
			 2000 662 
			 2001 635 
			 2002 644 
			 2003 722 
			 2004 831 
			 2005 834 
			 2006 894 
			  Source:  Ministry of Justice Statistical Bulletin. Statistics of Mentally Disordered Offenders 2006 England and Wales. 
		
	
	Figures are not available showing the breakdown between the national health service and the independent sector.

Prisoners: Mentally Ill

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment the Department has made of the number and proportion of the prison population with one or more mental health condition, broken down by condition; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: I have been asked to reply.
	A survey, 'Psychiatric Morbidity among Prisoners in England and Wales' (Office for National Statistics (ONS), 1997) showed that 90 per cent. of prisoners have at least one significant mental health problem, including personality disorder, psychosis, neurosis, alcohol misuse and drug dependence.
	Although the 1997 ONS study is now quite old, it is still regarded as an accurate reflection of the situation today.

Prisoners: Personal Records

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 5 February 2008,  Official Report, columns 1118-19W, on Prisoners: Personal Records, what records his Department holds on the average length of time taken for a prisoner's full records to be received by the prison of destination following transfer.

Maria Eagle: Information is not held centrally on the time it takes for these records to transfer from one prison to another, but the principle is that the form travels with the prisoner's escorting officer and so the transfer should be immediate.

Reoffenders: Research

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) undertaken on the relationship between prison regimes and reoffending rates; and if he will publish such research.

David Hanson: No specific research has been commissioned to investigate the relationship between aspects of prison regimes and reoffending. However, the latest available reoffending data, for the 2004 cohort of adult prisoners discharged from custody, show that reoffending decreased by 4.6 per cent. between 2000 and 2004 after controlling for changes in offender characteristics. Reoffending behaviour can be influenced by not just the programmes run in prisons, but the work of probation services and other partners once the offender has been released, as well as a wider range of socio-economic factors.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental Information Officers

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were employed in his Department's press office in each of the last five years; and how much it cost to run the office, including utilities and other expenses, in each year.

Shaun Woodward: The number of people employed in Northern Ireland Information Service (NIIS), the Communications Directorate of the Northern Ireland Office, for each of the last five years is detailed in the following table.
	
		
			   Press officers  Admin/support staff  Total 
			 2002-03 15 28 43 
			 2003-04 11 25 36 
			 2004-05 14 28 42 
			 2005-06 12 26 38 
			 2006-07 14 23 37 
		
	
	The operating budget for NIIS for each of the last five years is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  £ 
			 2002-03 1,951,872.14 
			 2003-04 1,890,132.42 
			 2004-05 1,769,763.96 
			 2005-06 1,599,059.78 
			 2006-07 1,605,463.68 
		
	
	These figures include staff salaries and all salary related costs including other expenditure incurred in pursuance of our overall objective of presenting and explaining Government policy in Northern Ireland by appropriately communicating the objectives of the NIO in a positive, timely, impartial and professional manner.

Discrimination

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many claims for discrimination, based on  (a) sex,  (b) race and  (c) sexual orientation, were brought by members of his Department and settled (i) in and (ii) out of court in each of the last five years.

Shaun Woodward: Five cases brought against the Northern Ireland Office Core Department by its staff were settled during the time specified. Four cases were on grounds of sex, two in 2004-05, one in 2006-07 and one in 2007-08. There was one case on grounds of race in 2003-04. All cases were settled out of court. There were no cases during this period based on sexual orientation.
	The NIO has procedures in place for dealing with complaints of discrimination and the majority of complaints brought by staff will be dealt with under these procedures without recourse to tribunals.
	In accordance with section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, all personnel policies affecting staff are screened to ensure that they do not have an adverse effect on any of the nine groups specified under the legislation, which include gender, race and sexual orientation. In addition, NIO staff receive training on avoiding discriminatory behaviour in the workplace, including such behaviour on the basis of gender, race and sexual orientation. Until recently, this took the form of mandatory equal opportunities awareness training for new staff as part of their induction. This has been replaced by a new diversity course which is currently being rolled out to the whole Department.

Drug Seizures

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many seizures of illegal drugs were made in each district command unit in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: The following table sets out details the number of seizures of illegal drugs made in each District Command Unit in each of the last five years.
	
		
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Antrim 23 75 89 97 87 
			 Ards 48 63 46 40 37 
			 East Belfast 54 125 100 100 81 
			 North Belfast 150 154 154 215 229 
			 South Belfast 149 221 228 219 266 
			 West Belfast 70 50 58 68 97 
			 Carrickfergus 38 61 64 50 29 
			 Castlereagh 35 55 48 45 41 
			 Larne 31 40 10 15 29 
			 Lisburn 101 88 121 118 125 
			 Newtownabbey 42 57 45 63 62 
			 North Down 76 98 116 105 96 
			  Urban 817 1,087 1,079 1,35 1,179 
			   
			 Armagh 44 67 71 98 56 
			 Banbridge 101 140 153 122 126 
			 Ballymena 11 9 13 14 9 
			 Ballymoney 55 49 32 46 28 
			 Coleraine 108 138 147 181 232 
			 Cookstown 43 76 76 98 74 
			 Craigavon 101 102 126 191 196 
			 Dungannon and S Tyrone 38 78 104 102 82 
			 Down 58 90 74 101 76 
			 Fermanagh 42 54 78 75 48 
			 Foyle 125 141 146 163 136 
			 Limavady 35 64 70 110 97 
			 Magherafelt 35 56 42 40 40 
			 Moyle 6 11 10 16 17 
			 Newry and Mourne 43 78 60 80 65 
			 Omagh 74 78 97 159 97 
			 Strabane 45 29 24 36 32 
			  Rural 964 1,260 1,323 1,632 1,411 
			   
			 Total 1,781 2,347 2,402 2,767 2,590 
			  Source: Central Statistics Unit, Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Drugs: Sentencing

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons are serving a custodial sentence for  (a) drug and  (b) alcohol-related offences, broken down by (i) age, (ii) sex and (iii) offence.

Paul Goggins: Table 1 gives the total number of sentenced prisoners currently in prison in Northern Ireland as at 19 March 2008, where the main sentence being served is for a drugs related offence. Table 1 has been split to provide the age group and gender breakdown of these prisoners.
	Tables 2 and 3 give a separate breakdown for males and females by age group and the individual drug related offences for which they have been sentenced. It should be noted that since individual prisoners may have been sentenced for multiple drug offences, the total numbers referred to in Tables 2 and 3 reflect the number of individual offences rather than individual prisoners sentenced.
	The Prison Service database does not record information on the number of prisoners in custody for alcohol-related offences.
	
		
			  Table 1: Sentenced prisoners in custody in Northern Ireland on 19 March 2008, where the main sentence being served is for a drugs related offence, broken down by age group and gender 
			   Age  
			   16-20  21-25  26-30  31 -35  36-40  4  -45  46-50  51+  Total 
			 Male 2 3 17 10 9 8 2 5 56 
			 Female 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 
			 Total 2 3 18 11 9 8 2 5 58 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Drug related sentences being served by male prisoners in custody( 1)  in Northern Ireland on 19 March 2008, broken down by age group 
			   Age  
			   16-20  21 -25  26-30  31 -35  36-40  41-45  46-50  51+  Total 
			 Attempted possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply — — — — — — — 1 1 
			 Being concerned in supply of a controlled drug — — — 1 — — — — 1 
			 Conspiracy to supply class A drugs — — — — 2 — — — 2 
			 Conspiracy to possess drugs — — — — 1 — — — 1 
			 Cultivating cannabis — — 1 2 — 1 — — 4 
			 Exporting controlled drugs — — — — — — 1 — 1 
			 Fraud exporting class C controlled drugs — — — — — 2 — — 2 
			 Fraud importing class A controlled drugs — — — — 1 1 — 1 3 
			 Importing controlled drugs — — — 1 — — — — 1 
			 Possession of class A controlled drug with intent to supply — 4 10 3 5 2 2 3 29 
			 Possession of class B controlled drug with intent to supply — 1 3 — — 1 1 1 7 
			 Possession of class C controlled drug with intent to supply 1 — 12 1 3 3 2 1 23 
			 Possession of class A controlled drugs 1 3 6 5 3 2 5 3 28 
			 Possession of class B controlled drugs — — 3 1 1 1 2 1 9 
			 Possession of class C controlled drugs — 2 9 3 6 1 2 1 24 
			 Producing class C controlled drugs — — 1 — — — — — 1 
			 Supplying class A controlled drugs — 2 — 4 1 1 1 2 11 
			 Supplying class C controlled drugs — 1 1 1 — 1 — — 4 
			 Total 2 13 46 22 23 16 16 14 152 
			 (1) This relates solely to prisoners where the main offence being served is for a drugs related offence. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Drug related sentences being served by female prisoners in custody( 1)  in Northern Ireland on 19 March 2008, broken down by age group 
			   Age  
			   16-20  21-25  26-30  31-35  36-40  41-45  46-50  51+  Total 
			 Importing controlled drugs — — 1 — — — — — 1 
			 Possession of class A controlled drug with intent to supply — — — 1 — — — — 1 
			 Total — — 1 1 — — — — 2 
			 (1) This relates solely to prisoners where the main offence being served is for a drugs related offence.

Foreign Workers

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the number of migrant workers in Northern Ireland; and how many employers have been  (a) cautioned and  (b) prosecuted for paying migrant workers less than the minimum wage since its introduction.

Paul Goggins: Following restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly on 8 May 2007, employment matters have been the responsibility of the devolved administration. I therefore do not hold statistics on the number of migrant workers in Northern Ireland.
	However, enforcement throughout the UK of the national minimum wage is the responsibility of HM Revenue and Customs on behalf of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
	The number of employers in Northern Ireland who have been found to have underpaid workers since 1 April 2001 is set out in the following table. It is not possible to identify how many of these relate to migrant workers, and this information could be provided only at disproportionate expense.
	
		
			  Number of employers in Northern Ireland found to have been underpaying the national minimum wage 
			 2001-02 244 
			 2002-03 213 
			 2003-04 218 
			 2000-05 204 
			 2005-06 170 
			 2006-07 140 
			 2007-08 118

Ipsos Mori

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what payments his Department and its agencies have made to Ipsos MORI in the last 24 months; and for what purposes.

Shaun Woodward: The Northern Ireland Office and its agencies did not make any payments to Ipos MORI in the last 24 months.

Motor Vehicles: Theft

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) vehicles were stolen and (b) persons were convicted of vehicle theft in North Belfast District Command Unit in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: Table 1 sets out the number of vehicles stolen in North Belfast District Command Unit in each of the last five years.
	Table 2 sets out the number of persons with an address in North Belfast District Command Unit prosecuted and convicted of vehicle theft in each of the last five calendar years, 2006 being the latest available.
	
		
			  Table 1 
			   Number of vehicles stolen 
			 2002-03 882 
			 2003-04 568 
			 2004-05 498 
			 2005-06 344 
			 2006-07 347 
			  Source: Central Statistics Unit, PSN1 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2 
			   Prosecutions  Convictions 
			 2002 25 23 
			 2003 43 36 
			 2004 41 31 
			 2005 23 22 
			 2006 33 27 
		
	
	PSNI data on numbers of arrests is not directly comparable with statistics on conviction, as the offence recorded initially may differ from that which is used in court.

OLYMPICS

Olympic Games 2012: Environment Protection

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what recent steps the Government have taken to minimise the undesirable effects on the environment of the 2012 Olympics.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 26 March 2008
	 In the London 2012 Sustainability Plan, "Towards a One Planet Olympics", published in November 2007, the Olympic Board sets out how it intends to achieve a sustainable games for each of the build, staging and legacy phases. For example, the design of the Olympic Park will minimise water use, carbon emissions and the impacts of climate change.
	This year, the ODA will publish a Biodiversity Action Plan which will consider key issues including minimising and mitigating the impact of 2012 development activity, creating new habitats and protecting sensitive species.

Olympic Games 2012: Gun Sports

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Minister for the Olympics whether 2012 Olympic competitions which involve handguns will be staged in Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 25 March 2008
	 Following consultation, the Royal Artillery Barracks at Woolwich in London was selected as the venue for all the shooting events at the games. The advantage of this venue is that it is close to the Olympic Park and Village, which will improve the athlete and spectator experience by limiting travel and making it easier to attend other games events on the same day in the Olympic Park.

Olympic Games 2012: Gun Sports

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what consideration she has given to the location of  (a) training facilities and  (b) competitions for handgun shooting as part of the 2012 Olympics; whether primary legislation is required to facilitate handgun (i) training and (ii) competition in preparation for and as part of the 2012 Olympics; and if she will make a statement.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 25 March 2008
	 Following consultation, the Royal Artillery Barracks at Woolwich in London was selected as the competition venue for all the shooting events at the games.
	The London Organising Committee's Pre-Games Training Guide to be published at the Beijing Games identifies a number of high-quality shooting facilities throughout the United Kingdom where air pistol target shooting can be undertaken.
	There is no need for primary legislation. It has already been agreed in principle to use the existing powers in section 5 of the Firearms Act 1968 to allow a small number of potential Olympic pistol shooters to practise on Ministry of Defence ranges in Great Britain ahead of the London Olympics. The same powers will be used to enable pistol-shooting disciplines to form part of the games.

Olympic Games 2012: Training

Mark Hoban: To ask the Minister for the Olympics pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Henley of 10 December 2007,  Official Report, column 47W, on Olympic Games 2012: Training, when the National Construction Skills Academy project on the Olympic Park will be established; and when she expects the first apprentice to qualify from the project.

Tessa Jowell: The ODA was granted the status of National Skills Academy for Construction (NSAfC) in November 2007 and the Plant Training Centre, which is part of the NSAfC, opened at the end of December 2007. The academy was formally launched with the ODA's Employment and Skills Strategy on 19 February 2008.
	To date 57 people have passed the theory and practical test at the Plant Training Centre. Each of these now needs to complete further training in employment to consolidate their full NVQ level 2 qualification. It is expected that this will be completed by September this year for the earlier graduates from the centre.
	Details of the level 3 (electricians) apprenticeships are still being finalised with the relevant Skills Council. The first group of adult apprenticeships is expected to start in September 2008. These people, who are already at level 2, will take a further two years in college and in employment training to qualify, and will complete in autumn 2010. The first group of 16 to 24-year-old apprentices are also due to start in September 2008 on full four-year apprenticeships ending in autumn 2012.

Olympic Games 2012: Training

Mark Hoban: To ask the Minister for the Olympics pursuant to the answer of 7 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1298W, on Olympic Games 2012: Expenditure, what the  (a) cost and  (b) purpose of each of the 19 projects is.

Tessa Jowell: The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) requires approval for expenditure on projects valued at over £20 million and projects that are novel or contentious regardless of value. Gross cost estimates (including VAT) are provided below for nine of the 19 projects approved to date.
	
		
			   £ million 
			 Olympic Stadium 496 
			 Logistics 337 
			 Enabling Works 364 
			 Stratford Regional Station 119 
			 Contribution to North London Line 110 
			 Contribution to DLR Upgrade 86 
			 ODA Insurance Programme 50 
			 Thornton's Field Relocation 47 
			 Contribution to Prescott Channel Control Structure 5 
		
	
	Details of cost estimates for the ODA delivery partner, CLM, will be included in the next ODA annual report, scheduled for publication in summer 2008.
	As the remaining approved projects are in contract negotiation or subject to statutory process, cost information remains commercially sensitive at the present time.

Olympic Games 2012: Training

Harry Cohen: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what percentage of training the Olympic Delivery Authority plans to offer to young people in London in construction will be to  (a) NVQ level 2 and  (b) NVQ level 3.

Tessa Jowell: Around 2,000 trainees are expected to be on the Olympic site over the period of construction and between 85 per cent. and 90 per cent. of these (1,700 to 1,800) are likely to be NVQ level 2. The exact number of trainees and apprenticeships will be agreed by the National Skills Academy for Construction Partnership Board as part of the ongoing process of establishing the training plan.
	The ODA strategy is focused on getting people into work and then on to the first level of training. The initial forecasts of the skill requirements for the Olympic site indicate that the requirement will be mainly civil engineering and construction skills rather than the traditional building craft skills.
	Accordingly, it is currently expected that the vast majority of the trainee places will be NVQ level 2 and a minority at level 3. In addition there will be a significant proportion of level 3 trainees/apprenticeships on the Olympic Village.

TRANSPORT

Departmental Advertising

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which of her Department's initiatives and those of its predecessors have been advertised to the public in each of the last 10 years; and what the cost of each such campaign was.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Expenditure for the Department's advertising campaigns from the 2002-03 fiscal year, when the Department for Transport was formed, is in the following table.
	The majority of campaign advertising investment by the Department is in support of the "THINK!" road safety and the "Act on CO2" campaigns. Major advertising investment by Executive Agencies has been by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, to explain changes to the car tax rules.
	Following departmental reorganisations, providing total expenditure figures for prior to 2002-03 fiscal year would involve disproportionate costs.
	
		
			  Department  Campaign  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 DfT THINK! (£ million) 9.5 10.3 8.75 11.57 9.2 
			  Transport Direct (£000) — — 240 865 405 
			  Act on CO2 (£ million) — — — — 3.59 
			
			 DVLA Sale of Marks (£ million) 2.032 2.149 2.534 2.335 3.006 
			  VED Enforcement(*) (£ million) 2.921 8.630 5.961 4.165 5.596 
			  Accelerated Issue of Harmonised Registration Certificate (£ million) — — 1.424 1.211 — 
			  Mandatory V5 (log book) (£ million) 3.755 1.144 — — — 
			  Others (£000) 695 1,886 1,026 677 799 
			
			 HA Introduction of Traffic Officer Service (£000) — — — 330 — 
			
			 MCA Dial 999 for the Coastguard (£000) 8.5 8.5 9.1 15.5 9.9 
			
			 VGA n/a — — — — — 
			 VOSA n/a — — — — — 
			
			 DSA Passplus/other advertising (£000) Nil 76 32 15 148

Departmental Data Protection

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether confidential or personal information has been compromised through the loss of property from her Department since 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Other than in exceptional cases, when it is in the public interest, it has been the policy of successive Governments not to comment on breaches of security. However, following the publication of the Data Handling Procedures in Government: Interim Progress Report on 17 December 2007,  Official Report, column 98WS, all Departments will cover information assurance issues in their annual reports.

Departmental Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the hourly rates of pay of all non-permanent staff working for her Department and its agencies were in each of the last 12 months; and how many staff were receiving each rate in each of those months.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Pensions

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the trade unions representing staff in her Department requested the health and standard rules in respect of Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme ill-health benefits to be changed; what her Department's response was; and when this response was made.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The trade unions wrote to the Department of Transport on 23 May 2007. Unfortunately, a formal response was not sent until 20 March 2008 owing to an oversight. Changes to the pension scheme rules relating to ill-health benefits were applied in the Department in 2007.

Departmental Responsibilities

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what  (a) reviews,  (b) consultation and  (c) taskforces the Department is (i) responsible for and (ii) scheduled to undertake; on what date each such initiative that is under way (A) started and (B) is expected to be completed; and what the purpose is of each.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport undertakes extensive engagement with a wide range of stakeholders.
	The readily available information relating to ad hoc reviews, groups and taskforces is summarised as follows:
	 Reviews
	 Forthcoming: Road Safety Strategy after 2010
	Started: Early 2008
	Completed: Mid 2009
	Purpose: Development of new road safety strategy after 2010.
	The Department is currently contributing to the cross-government review on data security announced by the Prime Minister on the 21 November 2007.
	 Groups
	Eddington Friends
	Started: May 2005
	Completed: Contract due to cease December 2008 (possibility of extension).
	Purpose: Quarterly meeting of academics, original purpose was to advice on progress of the Eddington Study. Since completion of the study have been considering other analytical issues.
	 Access to Air Travel working Group
	Started: June 2007
	Completion: July 2008
	Purpose: Informal group of industry representatives to review the code of practice "Access to Air Travel for Disabled People".
	 Compliance Stakeholder Group
	Started: 28 May 2004
	Completion: Ongoing
	Purpose: The CSG seeks to involve stakeholders in the work being undertaken by the SSDL Group to develop a programme of measures aimed at improving the compliance of all drivers and vehicles and reducing vehicle related crime.
	 Road Safety Advisory Panel
	Started: July 2000
	Completed: Ongoing
	Purpose: Advises on casualty reduction targets to be delivered in 2010. Representation on it will be reviewed every three years. Group membership is more akin to an internal committee than an external body.
	 Aviation Fuel Task Group
	Started: June 2007
	Completion: Ongoing
	Purpose: A joint Government industry group, jointly chaired by DfT and BERR, looking at strategic short, medium and long term fuel demand and supply issues.
	 External Advisory Group
	Started: September 2004
	Completion: Ongoing
	Purpose: Chaired by the Department for Transport's Director of Airports Strategy, made up of representatives from industry (airports, airlines, freight carriers), environmental organisations and other interest groups.
	The role of the BAG is to maintain a formal channel of communication between the DfT and key external stakeholders on airport-related issues. EAG meetings provide an opportunity for all members to share information and exchange views as part of the Air Transport White Paper implementation programme.
	 Disruptive Passenger Working Group
	Started: November 1998
	Completion: Ongoing
	Purpose: To advise Ministers on measures to minimise the frequency and potential impact of disruptive behaviour on board aircraft. The Group, chaired by the Department includes participants from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the Association of Chief Police Officers, the British Air Transport Association, the UK Flight Safety Committee, the Board of Airline Representatives in the UK, and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
	A key action from the Group was establishing a standardised reporting scheme to monitor incidents of unruly behaviour on board UK aircraft and to assess what action was required to address such behaviour. This information is collated by the CAA and published on the Department website. Latest statistics will be published on 6 December 2007. Previous statistics can be viewed at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/aviation/hci/db/disruptivebehaviouronboarduk1056
	 Aviation Health Working Group
	Started: March 2001
	Completion: Ongoing
	Purpose: Set up in response to the House of Lords Select Committee Inquiry into Air Travel and Health, and provides a forum at which Government and industry stakeholders discuss and advice Ministers on aviation health issues. The Group meets quarterly and includes a smaller Research-Sub Group which meets when required. Membership includes OGDs, CAA, interested industry representatives. The Group invites presentations from other parties as necessary. The Group's mission statement agreed in 2001 is to:
	Provide a forum for interested Government Departments and Agencies to consider issues relevant to aviation health;
	Provide an interface with the air transport industry, health experts and other interested parties on aviation health issues of mutual interest;
	Evaluate the need for research into issues related to air travel and health, and consider the role of Government in supporting such research;
	Ensure Ministers are kept informed and receive comprehensive advice on aviation health matters;
	Monitor developments that impinge on the health of those travelling by air."
	Minutes of meetings are placed on the DfT website at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/aviation/hci/ahwg/minutes/
	 Maritime Statistics Advisory Group
	Started: 23 October 2007
	Completion: Ongoing
	Purpose: Standing group to advise DfT on maritime statistics development.
	 Concessionary Fares Working Group
	Started: 2005
	Completion: Ongoing
	Purpose: Comprises local authority and operator representatives and provides advice on the implementation of the statutory bus concession.
	 Low Carbon Fuels Partnership
	Started: January 2003
	Completion: Ongoing
	Purpose: The Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership was established in 2003 with the mission of accelerating a sustainable shift to low carbon vehicles and fuels in the UK and thereby stimulating opportunities for the UK. The Partnership aims to achieve this mission by: facilitating membership initiatives; providing policy support to Government Departments and others; and undertaking research to improve understanding.
	 Consultations
	Information on consultations is published on the 10 Downing Street website at:
	www.pm.gov.uk
	All current DfT consultations can be found on the website at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/open/
	Information on DfT Agencies and NDPBs can be found at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/about/how/ndpb/departmentfortransportannual1024

Departmental Written Questions

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many written questions to her Department had not received an answer as at 25 February 2008 for  (a) between two and four,  (b) between four and six,  (c) between six and eight and  (d) more than eight weeks; and how many in each category were tabled for named day answer.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Information in the format requested by the hon. Member could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	However, from 6 November 2007, a total of 1,494 written questions were tabled to the Department for Transport for written answer on or before 25 February 2008.
	Of these, 346 were named day questions and 208 were answered on the due date. At 11 March, three named day questions from the period remain unanswered by the Department.

Discrimination

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many claims for discrimination, based on  (a) sex, (b) race and  (c) sexual orientation, were brought by members of her Department and settled (i) in and (ii) out of court in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The information requested is in the following table. The DfT response has been summarised into a total over the past five full calendar years to protect individuals' identities.
	
		
			  Last five (full calendar) years  Number of cases  Settled in court  Settled out of court 
			 Sex 5 1 4 
			 Race 5 1 4 
			 Sexual orientation Less than 5 n/a n/a

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Data Protection

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will take steps to prevent the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency from passing drivers' personal details to commercial third parties without permission in any circumstances; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Information held on the DVLA's driver register is only released to commercial companies with the explicit consent of the data subject. Data is only released on the Car Hire Line (0906 139 3837) if the driver is present and verbally confirms consent, or has already telephoned and left permission that has been recorded on the driver's record. There are no plans to change this position.
	Vehicle keeper information is released from the DVLA's vehicle register where there is a statutory requirement to do so. This includes anyone who can demonstrate a 'reasonable cause' for requesting that information.

Driving Standards Agency: Data Protection

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what mechanisms have been put in place to prevent future data losses by the Driving Standards Agency; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I refer the hon. Member to the statement of 17 December 2007,  Official Report, columns 626-6, by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on measures to improve the security of personal data.
	The following measures have been put in place to prevent future data losses by the Driving Standards Agency and its contractors:
	Following identification of the loss in Iowa, immediate measures were introduced to secure bulk transfers of data through use of point to point delivery or secure courier where appropriate.
	A review of all transfers of data was instigated. This is due to be completed shortly.
	Reminders of current procedures (where still appropriate) and new instructions concerning handling of data were communicated to all Driving Standards Agency staff in the form of email, and messages on the Agency's intranet.
	The data, held by NCS Pearson for the purpose of the backup of DSA data, and referred to in the Secretary of State's statement of 17 December 2007, are now transferred electronically rather than on hard disc.
	Further, additional security measures such as CCTV and reduced staff access have been instigated at NCS Pearson's premises in Iowa, USA.
	A data protection audit is currently in progress. This covers assessment of all Pearson's data handling and storage procedures, including the use of primary and secondary back-ups to ensure that all the design, procedural and process safeguards are in place.

Heathrow Airport: Carbon Emissions

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the impact of her proposal for Heathrow expansion on each of the Government's emissions reduction objectives.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Emissions from international aviation do not currently score as UK emissions. The Climate Change Bill includes provisions which would enable Ministers to include international aviation emissions in UK totals in the event of developments in international carbon reporting practices for the sector.
	The UK is continuing to press for the inclusion of aviation in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). As the Heathrow consultation document states, under current proposals aviation emissions would effectively be capped at the average level over the period 2004 to 2006. This means that when the trading scheme is established, any additional aviation emissions above that level would lead to no increase in total emissions, since airlines would have to pay for the equivalent emissions reductions in other sectors.

Motorcycles: Licensing

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many multi-purpose test centres will be required for the implementation of the second European driving licence directive for motorcycles; how many are currently in operation; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The second European driving licence directive EC 2000/56 gives member states some discretion on how to implement the directive. Following ministerial approval, the Driving Standards Agency plans to deliver the new motorcycling test from a national network of around 60 multi-purpose test centres. Currently 17 centres are operational.

Road Accidents

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road accidents were recorded in each region in each of the last five years; how many of these resulted in  (a) fatalities and  (b) injuries; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The numbers of reported personal injury road accidents in each region by severity from 2002 to 2006 are given in the table.
	
		
			  Number of accidents 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			  Region  Fatal  Injury( 1)  Fatal  Injury( 1)  Fatal  Injury( 1)  Fatal  Injury( 1)  Fatal  Injury( 1) 
			 North East 117 8,163 123 8,222 119 7,994 98 7,640 104 7,222 
			 North West 306 27,616 371 26,462 303 26,201 326 25,121 298 23,172 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 294 20,037 296 19,591 288 18,488 276 16,947 278 16,655 
			 East Midlands 324 15,579 335 15,191 269 14,931 270 14,550 299 13,789 
			 West Midlands 272 20,266 298 19,513 264 18,769 262 18,299 271 17,469 
			 East of England 351 20,711 337 20,098 337 20,061 318 19,205 318 17,892 
			 South East 474 30,774 487 29,382 441 28,842 460 28,035 422 27,573 
			 London 267 33,733 259 31,585 208 28,570 205 26,607 221 24,608 
			 South West 312 18,140 281 17,601 285 17,659 280 17,739 272 16,589 
			 Wales 133 9,567 162 9,582 183 9,352 154 8,561 150 8,551 
			 Scotland 274 14,041 298 13,556 281 13,565 264 13,118 293 12,715 
			 GB 3,124 218,627 3,247 210,783 2,978 204,432 2,913 195,822 2,926 186,235 
			 (1 )Serious or slight injury accident

Speed Limits

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations she has received on the maximum speed limit for  (a) a single carriageway road and  (b) a dual carriageway road which has been permanently constricted to a single carriageway for a set distance.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 25 March 2008
	The Department has, from time to time, received representations from interested parties requesting information on the maximum speed limit for dual carriageways, including dual carriageways constricted to a single carriageway.
	The maximum speed limit for cars on a single carriageway road is 60 mph. The maximum speed limit for cars on a dual carriageway is 70 mph.
	If a dual carriageway is constricted to a single carriageway, the speed limit will be reduced from 70 mph to 60 mph, unless signs indicate otherwise.
	If a dual carriageway is reduced to a single lane of traffic in each direction, the 70 mph speed limit will still apply unless signs indicate otherwise.

TREASURY

Census

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information will be collected as part of the 2011 national census; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 27 March 2008:
	I am replying as National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales to your recent question asking the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information will be collected in the 2011 Census.
	The question development and testing programme is not yet complete and decisions about the information to be collected in the 2011 Census in England and Wales have not yet been made.
	A White Paper setting out the proposals for the 2011 Census is scheduled to be published towards the end of 2008. However it will not be possible to confirm what questions and response categories are to be included in the 2011 Census until the consultation and question testing programme is complete and formal approval is given by Parliament in 2010.

Childbirth

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many live births there were in the latest year for which figures are available, broken down by  (a) region and  (b) primary care trust area.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 27 March 2008:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question about how many live births there were in the latest year for which figures are available, broken down by (a) region and (b) Primary Care Trust area. (195752)
	The latest year for which figures are available is 2006. Births are assigned to an area according to the usual residence of the mother at the time of the birth, as stated at registration.
	The number of live births in 2006 by (a) region and (b) Primary Care Trust within England and Local Health Board within Wales are provided in the attached tables.
	
		
			  Live births by area of usual residence of mother, England and Wales, 2006 
			  Area of usual residence of mother (Government office region)  Live births 
			 North East 29,184 
			 North West 84,155 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 62,955 
			 East Midlands 50,717 
			 West Midlands 67,688 
			 East 66,870 
			 London 120,898 
			 South East 98,566 
			 South West 54,715 
			 Wales 33,628 
			 Normal residence outside England and Wales 225 
			   
			 England and Wales 669,601 
		
	
	
		
			  Live births by area of usual residence of mother, England and Wales, 2006 
			  Area of usual residence of mother( 1)  (primary care trusts in England, local health boards Wales)  Live births 
			 Newcastle PCT 3,221 
			 North Tyneside PCT 2,256 
			 Hartlepool PCT 1,188 
			 North Tees PCT 2,385 
			 Darlington PCT 1,282 
			 Gateshead PCT 2,251 
			 South Tyneside PCT 1,560 
			 Sunderland Teaching PCT 3,236 
			 Middlesbrough PCT 1,878 
			 County Durham PCT 5,402 
			 Redcar and Cleveland PCT 1,528 
			 Northumberland PCT 2,997 
			 Blackburn with Darwen PCT 2,315 
			 Salford Teaching PCT 3,014 
			 Stockport PCT 3,280 
			 Ashton, Leigh and Wigan PCT 3,627 
			 Blackpool PCT 1,655 
			 Bolton PCT 3,645 
			 Warrington PCT 2,231 
			 Knowsley PCT 1,887 
			 Oldham PCT 3,325 
			 Bury PCT 2,311 
			 Tameside and Glossop PCT 3,193 
			 Cumbria PCT 4,917 
			 North Lancashire PCT 2,984 
			 Central Lancashire PCT 5,422 
			 East Lancashire PCT 4,843 
			 Sefton PCT 2,713 
			 Wirral PCT 3,575 
			 Liverpool PCT 5,494 
			 Halton and St. Helens PCT 3,744 
			 Western Cheshire PCT 2,447 
			 Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT 5,064 
			 Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale PCT 2,856 
			 Trafford PCT 2,766 
			 Manchester PCT 7,268 
			 North East Lincolnshire PCT 1,954 
			 North Lincolnshire PCT 1,812 
			 Rotherham PCT 2,989 
			 Calderdale PCT 2,513 
			 Barnsley PCT 2,747 
			 Leeds PCT 9,155 
			 Kirklees PCT 5,531 
			 Wakefield District PCT 3,803 
			 Sheffield PCT 6,341 
			 Doncaster PCT 3,612 
			 North Yorkshire and York PCT 7,755 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire PCT 3,071 
			 Hull PCT 3,500 
			 Bradford and Airedale PCT 8,153 
			 Nottingham City PCT 3,909 
			 Bassetlaw PCT 1,157 
			 Derbyshire County PCT 7,587 
			 Derby City PCT 3,269 
			 Northamptonshire County PCT 7,154 
			 Lincolnshire PCT 6,849 
			 Leicestershire County and Rutland PCT 7,055 
			 Leicester City PCT 4,747 
			 Northamptonshire Teaching PCT 8,588 
			 Herefordshire PCT 1,710 
			 South Birmingham PCT 4,291 
			 Shropshire County PCT 2,779 
			 Walsall Teaching PCT 3,615 
			 Coventry Teaching PCT 4,216 
			 Telford and Wrekin PCT 2,135 
			 Wolverhampton City PCT 3,196 
			 Heart of Birmingham Teaching PCT 5,445 
			 Dudley PCT 3,548 
			 Sandwell PCT 4,166 
			 Birmingham East and North PCT 6,551 
			 North Staffordshire PCT 1,932 
			 Stoke on Trent PCT 3,394 
			 South Staffordshire PCT 6,541 
			 Worcestershire PCT 6,025 
			 Warwickshire PCT 6,034 
			 Solihull PCT 2,110 
			 Luton PCT 3,325 
			 South East Essex PCT 3,769 
			 Bedfordshire PCT 4,943 
			 East and North Hertfordshire PCT 6,531 
			 West Hertfordshire PCT 6,968 
			 Peterborough PCT 2,630 
			 Cambridgeshire PCT 6,641 
			 Norfolk PCT 7,506 
			 Great Yarmouth and Waveney PCT 2,187 
			 Suffolk PCT 6,527 
			 West Essex PCT 3,420 
			 North East Essex PCT 3,252 
			 Mid Essex PCT 4,017 
			 South West Essex PCT 5,154 
			 Havering PCT 2,426 
			 Kingston PCT 2,046 
			 Bromley PCT 3,740 
			 Greenwich Teaching PCT 4,236 
			 Barnet PCT 4,835 
			 Hillingdon PCT 3,691 
			 Enfield PCT 4,543 
			 Barking and Dagenham PCT 3,208 
			 City and Hackney Teaching PCT 4,614 
			 Tower Hamlets PCT 4,152 
			 Newham PCT 5,523 
			 Haringey Teaching PCT 4,076 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham PCT 2,775 
			 Ealing PCT 5,066 
			 Hounslow PCT 3,829 
			 Brent Teaching PCT 4,700 
			 Harrow PCT 2,924 
			 Camden PCT 3,012 
			 Islington PCT 2,803 
			 Croydon PCT 5,024 
			 Kensington and Chelsea PCT 2,322 
			 Westminster PCT 2,887 
			 Lambeth PCT 4,908 
			 Southwark PCT 4,753 
			 Lewisham PCT 4,568 
			 Wandsworth PCT 5,002 
			 Richmond and Twickenham PCT 2,767 
			 Sutton and Merton PCT 5,518 
			 Redbridge PCT 3,977 
			 Waltham Forest PCT 4,185 
			 Bexley PCT 2,788 
			 Medway PCT 3,257 
			 Brighton and Hove City PCT 3,100 
			 Surrey PCT 13,004 
			 West Sussex PCT 8,452 
			 East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT 3,150 
			 Hastings and Rother PCT 1,839 
			 West Kent PCT 8,075 
			 Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT 8,205 
			 Milton Keynes PCT 3,452 
			 Portsmouth City Teaching PCT 2,471 
			 Southampton City PCT 2,907 
			 Hampshire PCT 14,195 
			 Buckinghamshire PCT 6,006 
			 Oxfordshire PCT 7,665 
			 Berkshire West PCT 5,799 
			 Berkshire East PCT 5,606 
			 Isle of Wight NHS 1,282 
			 South Gloucestershire PCT 2,939 
			 Plymouth Teaching PCT 3,011 
			 Bath and North East Somerset PCT 1,785 
			 Swindon PCT 2,656 
			 North Somerset PCT 2,107 
			 Gloucestershire PCT 6,211 
			 Bristol PCT 5,708 
			 Wiltshire PCT 5,002 
			 Somerset PCT 5,280 
			 Dorset PCT 3,474 
			 Bournemouth and Poole PCT 3,374 
			 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly PCT 5,173 
			 Devon PCT 6,802 
			 Torbay PCT 1,294 
			 Anglesey 697 
			 Gwynedd 1,331 
			 Conwy 1,149 
			 Denbighshire 989 
			 Flintshire 1,719 
			 Wrexham 1,597 
			 Powys 1,222 
			 Ceredigion 590 
			 Pembrokeshire 1,278 
			 Carmarthenshire 1,887 
			 Swansea 2,543 
			 Neath Port Talbot 1,515 
			 Bridgend 1,526 
			 Vale of Glamorgan 1,360 
			 Cardiff 4,216 
			 Rhondda Cynon Taff 2,778 
			 Merthyr Tydfil 692 
			 Caerphilly 2,167 
			 Blaenau Gwent 770 
			 Torfaen 1,069 
			 Monmouthshire 854 
			 Newport 1,679 
			 Normal residence outside England and Wales 225 
			 (1) Data provided on 2006 boundaries.

Data Protection

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1642W, on data protection, what plans HM Revenue and Customs has to appoint further data guardians.

Jane Kennedy: HMRC continues to keep the role and number of Data Guardians under review. There are currently 38 Data Guardians, reflecting current business demands.

Excise Duties: Beer

Tony Baldry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue was received from duty on beer in the last financial year; and how much is expected to be received in the 2008-09 financial year.

Angela Eagle: Information on the revenue raised from beer is available at the UK Trade Info website. Table 2 shows duty receipts from beer.
	http://www.uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task=bullbeer
	The revenue forecast from beer and cider in 2007-08 and 2008-09 is published in Table C6 of the 2008 Budget Report:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/budget/budget_08/report/bud_bud08_repindex.cfm
	A detailed breakdown of beer and cider is not published.

Members: Correspondence

Mark Harper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letters of 10 December 2007 and 11 February 2008 from the hon. Member for the Forest of Dean on Northern Rock.

Angela Eagle: I have replied to the hon. Member.

Money Markets

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he plans to take to restore stability and liquidity to the UK money market; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Eagle: The provision of liquidity to the money markets through open market operations is a matter for the Bank of England. The Bank of England has already taken steps to provide liquidity to the money market in increased amounts, at longer maturities and against an enlarged set of collateral The UK Authorities stand ready to take further steps if necessary.

Northern Rock: Guernsey

Greg Hands: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total deposits are of Northern Rock (Guernsey) Bank.

Angela Eagle: holding answer 14 March 2008
	During this period of temporary public ownership, Northern Rock is managed by its Board at arm's length from Government on commercial principles. It publishes its audited reports and group accounts on a regular basis in accordance with statutory reporting requirements. The group accounts will provide information about the Northern Rock group, which includes its subsidiary in Guernsey.

Overseas Aid

John Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of turbulence in international credit markets on the delivery of overseas development assistance pledges; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Eagle: The Government are committed to reducing international poverty. We announced in the 2007 comprehensive spending review that DFID's budget would rise from 5.4 billion to 7.9 billion a year in 2010-11. This will enable total UK Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) to reach over 9.1 billion a year by 2010-11. We continue to urge all countries similarly to live up to their commitments, including the promises made at the 2005 Gleneagles summit, and to achieve the millennium development goals. The successful recent replenishments of the World Bank's International Development Association and of the African Development Fund in 2007, to which the UK pledged 2.134 billion and 417 million respectively over the next three years, will ensure that low-income developing countries will continue to benefit from the concessional finance and expertise of these institutions.

Suicide: Stroud

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) males and  (b) females of each 10 year age cohort committed suicide in Stroud constituency over the last 10 years.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 27 March 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many (a) males and (b) females of each 10 year age cohort committed suicide in Stroud constituency over the last 10 years. (196421)
	The table attached provides the number of deaths where suicide was the underlying cause of death, by (a) sex and (b) 10-year age group, in Stroud parliamentary constituency, in the period from 1997 to 2006 (the latest year available).
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of deaths where suicide was the underlying cause of death, Stroud parliamentary constituency( 1) , by sex and age group( 2) ,1997-2006( 3) 
			  Deaths 
			  Age-group  Male  Female 
			 15-24 5 4 
			 25-34 10 4 
			 35-44 20 7 
			 45-54 10 7 
			 55-64 8 3 
			 65-74 4 1 
			 75-84 3 2 
			 85+ 6 0 
			 Total 66 28 
			 (1) Suicide was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes E950-E959 and E980-E989, excluding E988.8 for the years 1997 to 2000, and the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes X60-X84 and Y10-Y34, excluding Y33.9 (where the coroner's verdict was pending) for the years 2001 to 2006. (2) Suicide and undetermined intent deaths have not been included for children under the age of 15 years. (3) Figures are for deaths registered in the calendar years 1997 to 2006 combined.

Television

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many plasma television screens have been purchased by his Department and its agencies, and at what cost in the last 24 months.

Angela Eagle: The following plasma screen televisions were purchased in 2005-06 and 2006-07.
	
		
			   2005-06  2006-07 
			   Number  Cost ()  Number  Cost () 
			 HM Treasury (inc. Group Shared Services) 2 5,398 4 6,515 
			 OGC.bs 1 3,133   
			 HM Revenue and Customs   1 582 
			 National and Investments 5 11,649   
			 Office for National Statistics 1 823

WALES

Departmental Domestic Visits

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what visits he made to  (a) Harrogate International Centre,  (b) International Conference Centre, Birmingham,  (c) Manchester Central,  (d) Scottish Exhibitional and Conference Centre, Glasgow,  (e) Edinburgh International Conference Centre,  (f) Bournemouth International Conference Centre,  (g) the Brighton Centre, Brighton,  (h) the Riviera Centre, Torquay,  (i) Queen Elizabeth Centre, London,  (j) Excel Conference Centre, Docklands, London, and  (k) Business Design Centre, Islington, London, in the period 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2007; and what events he attended at each.

Paul Murphy: Neither myself nor my predecessor have visited any of the listed venues in a Wales Office ministerial capacity between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2007.

Departmental Training

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many staff in his Department attended the  (a) Influencing with Integrity,  (b) Emotional Intelligence,  (c) Counselling Skills for the Workplace,  (d) Managing your Confidence,  (e) Balancing Work/Life Realities and  (f) Working Assertively training course run by the National School of Government in the last 12 months for which information is available; and at what cost.

Paul Murphy: None

Legislative Competence

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will consider conducting a review of the effectiveness of legislative competence orders.

Paul Murphy: The UK Government are working closely with the Welsh Assembly Government to deliver the new legislative arrangements for Wales set down in the Government of Wales Act 2006. I keep these arrangements under constant review and will continue to do so.

National Assembly for Wales

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy to announce planned forthcoming meetings between Ministers in his Department and Ministers in the Welsh Assembly Government.

Paul Murphy: I can confirm that I meet or speak with the First Minister on a weekly basis. The Parliamentary-under-Secretary of State and I also meet regularly with all Ministers in the Welsh Assembly Government.

Rackspace

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the value was of each contract awarded to Rackspace by his Department in each of the last nine years.

Paul Murphy: Nil

WOMEN AND EQUALITY

Government Equalities Office: Publicity

Mark Hoban: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what Government Equalities Office initiatives have been advertised to the public; and at what cost since the Office was established.

Barbara Follett: The Government Equalities Office is not a public service delivery department and so has not advertised initiatives to the public.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Children: Poverty

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many children were living in households with income below 60 per cent. of the median after housing costs in each year since 1979; and how many are projected to be in this category in each of the next five years.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 20 March 2008
	The Government are fully committed to their targets to halve child poverty by 2010 and to eradicate it by 2020.
	Information on the number of children living in households with less than 60 per cent. of contemporary median household income after housing costs in each year from 1979 to 2005-06 is given in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of children living in households with less than 60 per cent. of contemporary median household income for available years (after housing costs) 
			   Million 
			  Family Expenditure Survey (UK)  
			 1979 2.1 
			 1981 2.9 
			 1987 3.4 
			 1988-89 3.5 
			 1990-91 4.0 
			 1991-92 4.2 
			 1992-93 4.4 
			 1993-95 4.4 
			 1994-96 4.5 
			 1995-97 4.8 
			   
			  Family Resources Survey (GB)  
			 1994-95 4.1 
			 1995-96 4.2 
			 1996-97 4.3 
			 1997-98 4.2 
			   
			  Family Resources Survey (UK)  
			 1998-99 4.4 
			 1999-2000 4.3 
			 2000-01 4.1 
			 2001-02 4.0 
			 2002-03 3.9 
			 2003-04 3.7 
			 2004-05 3.6 
			 2005-06 3.8 
			  Notes: 1. Family Expenditure Survey figures are for the United Kingdom. Family Resources Survey figures are for Great Britain up to 1997-98, and for the United Kingdom from 1998-99 onwards, with estimates for Northern Ireland imputed for the years 1998-99 through to 2001-02. 2. The reference period for Family Resources Survey figures is single financial years. Family Expenditure Survey figures correspond to single calendar years for 1979, 1981 and 1987, two combined calendar years from 1988-89 to 1992-93, and two financial years combined for 1993-95 to 1995-97. 3. The income measures used to derive the estimates shown employ the same methodology as the Department for Work and Pensions publication 'Households Below Average Income' series, which uses disposable household income, equivalised for household size and composition, as a proxy for standard of living. This uses the OECD equivalence scale for all years in the series. 4. The median income of the survey year in question has been used, namely the contemporary median, instead of using a fixed median for a particular year. 5. For after housing costs, housing costs (such as rent, water rates, mortgage interest payments, structural insurance payments and ground rent and service charges) are deducted from income. 6. Amounts in the tables have been presented in millions, rounded to the nearest 100,000 children. 
		
	
	We do not have any projections of the number of children in low income households on an after housing costs basis in each of the next five years.
	A projection of the number of children in relative low income, on a before housing costs basis, made using the Department for Work and Pensions' microsimulation model, is outlined in the Marker Review (Delivering on Child Poverty: What Would It Take? DWP November 2006). This is available in the Library. It is important to note that there are many uncertainties around such projections and they should be treated as wide estimates.
	There have been further policies announced since the Review was published. Progress in reducing the number of children is Policies announced in Budget 2007, the pre Budget report and Budget 2008 will help lift over 500,000 more children out of poverty from 2010-11 than otherwise on a before housing cost basis. In addition, the Government have announced further measures to improve parental employment since that projection was made.

Civil Service Appeal Board

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of appeals by employees of  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies were (i) heard and (ii) upheld by the Civil Service Appeal Board in each of the last 10 years; how much was awarded in compensation by the Board to each successful appellant in each year; what the reason was for each compensation award; how many appellants were reinstated by the Board in each year; and what the reason was for each (A) dismissal and (B) reinstatement.

Anne McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions does not collate a central record of data in respect of appeals to the Civil Service Appeal Board.
	Copies of the outcome of the board's decision are informed to departmental officials dealing with the case on an individual basis. The cost of trying to extract this information from individual clerical records for the period requested would be at a disproportionate cost.
	Statistics on appeals heard for each of the last 10 years can be found in Appendix 2 of the Civil Service Appeal Board's annual reports. These are available on the Board's website at:
	http://www.civilserviceappealboard.gov.uk
	Copies are also available in the Library of the House.

Departmental Labour Turnover

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the turnover rate of staff in  (a) his Department and  (b) each of its agencies in each year since 2004-05.

Anne McGuire: The percentage turnover of staff in the Department for Work and Pensions and its agencies for each year ending 31 March since 2004-05 is in the following table.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   Turnover 12 months ending: 
			   31 March 2007  31 March 2006  31 March 2005 
			 DWP Overall 6.37 7.11 7.65 
			 Jobcentre Plus 6.12 6.69 6.65 
			 The Pension Service 7.46 8.68 11 
			 Child Support Agency 8.79 8.70 11.45 
			 Disability and Carers Service 4.62 5.89 5.66 
			 The Rent Service 5.87 8.28 9.66 
			 Appeals Service n/a 9.48 10.66 
			 Departmental Corporate Units 5.13 6.76 6.69 
			  Note: The Appeals Service transferred to the Department for Constitutional Affairs on 1 April 2006.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 9 January 2008,  Official Report, column 570W, on departmental public expenditure, whether HM Treasury has agreed to treat savings in annual managed expenditure arising from other programmes in the same way.

Anne McGuire: In Budget 2008 the Government announced their intention to explore using a new funding mechanism to reward private and voluntary sector specialist providers for investing in helping long-term incapacity benefit claimants to return to work. Detailed proposals will be announced in due course.

Departmental Video Conferencing

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will set a target to increase the use of video-conferencing by his Department to reduce the need to travel to meetings.

Anne McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions has in excess of 250 video-conferencing systems located throughout its office network. As part of an initiative to reduce business travel, there is an existing programme, established in November 2007, to improve video-conferencing facilities as well as the number of systems deployed. This programme is supported by numerous communication events to heighten awareness of managers and staff. The Department is tracking usage of both video and audio conferencing facilities but has not set arbitrary targets. An additional conferencing tool will also be provided later in 2008 and this is expected to help provide further options to conduct more business from home offices and as a consequence reduce the amount of business travel.

Discrimination: Special Educational Needs

James McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many cases have  (a) been brought under the Special Educational Needs and Disability Discrimination Act 2001 and  (b) been ruled unlawful confirming that less favourable treatment has taken place; and how many of these cases have been brought against universities.

Bridget Prentice: I have been asked to reply.
	The number of claims of disability discrimination made in England and Wales dealt with by special educational needs (SEN) and disability tribunals are detailed in the following table.
	
		
			  Claims and outcomes at SENDIST from 2002-07 
			   Claims  Decided  Upheld  Dismissed 
			 2002-03 79 14 3 11 
			 2003-04 83 71 23 48 
			 2004-05 78 56 22 34 
			 2005-06 128 57 21 36 
			 2006-07 119 85 36 49 
			 2007-dec 60 30 16 14 
		
	
	None of the claims in the table includes cases against universities, which are not covered by SENDIST special educational needs and disability tribunal jurisdiction.
	Higher education institutions such as universities are independent autonomous organisations who are responsible for ensuring that their policies and practices fully comply with disability discrimination legislation. The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills does not hold any information centrally on the number of cases brought against universities in respect of this legislation.
	In Scotland, claims of unlawful disability discrimination in relation to school education are brought as civil proceedings in the sheriff court. Such data is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
	Universities in respect of this legislation.
	In Scotland, claims of unlawful disability discrimination in relation to school education are brought as civil proceedings in the sheriff court. Such data is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Drinking Water

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on bottled water in the latest period for which figures are available.

Anne McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions currently has a single contract to supply DWP offices with water coolers and associated services and equipment. Bottled water may also be provided for business meetings but is sourced from a variety of contracts and is not accounted for separately.
	From April 2006 to March 2007, DWP spent 880,546 on bottled water. So far this year, from April 2007 to January 2008, DWP has spent 746,983. These costs include the provision of cups and sanitisation of the installed water coolers in addition to the bottled water itself.
	DWP is committed to phase out the use of bottled water for all business meetings and replace it with tap water. We are aiming to have this process in place by the summer of 2008.

Income Support: Lone Parents

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households in which the first child is now older than 11 years have made a continuous claim for income support for lone parents since 1997.

Stephen Timms: Information on whether people have claimed continuously as lone parents could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Jobcentre Plus: Closures

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the reasons are for the proposed closure of the Jobcentre Plus office in Shepherds Bush; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 27 March 2008:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the reasons for the proposed closure of the Jobcentre Plus office in Shepherds Bush. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Jobcentre Plus needs to constantly look at how it delivers its business to ensure that it is making best use of resources to deliver Jobcentre Plus services.
	We are near to completing the rollout of the Jobcentre Plus Network and are therefore reviewing how we deliver services to customers. The investment in new technology and increased availability of Contact Centre facilities mean that increasing numbers of customers, including employers, access services via telephone and e-channels, such as the internet. This has changed the work of Jobcentres and we need to adapt to meet these changes. At the same time, we need to make best use of the resources available to us, and to provide value for money to the taxpayers, especially given the high cost of the London estate.
	The Jobcentre Plus London network was planned some time ago on the original business model and customer base. With the current business model we need significantly less office space than we currently occupy and we can deliver a more effective and efficient service by consolidating our operations in a smaller number of large sites.
	A consultation exercise on the proposed closure of Shepherds Bush Jobcentre is in progress. The views of local stakeholders will be taken into account and no decisions will be made until the Minister has seen the outcome of the consultation. Customers in the area will still be able to access a face to face Jobcentre Plus service at Acton and Hammersmith Jobcentres.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will answer the letter to his predecessor of 14 January 2008 from the right hon. Member for Manchester Gorton with regard to Timothy Gordon.

Anne McGuire: I can confirm that a response to this letter was issued to the right hon. Member on 13 March 2008.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will answer the letter of 1 February 2008 from the right hon. Member for Manchester Gorton with regard to Ms Claudette Murphy.

Anne McGuire: I can confirm that a response to this letter was issued to the right hon. Member on 19 February 2008.

New Deal Schemes: Lancashire

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of those participants who have taken part in  (a) the new deal for young people,  (b) new deal 25 plus,  (c) new deal 50 plus,  (d) new deal for lone parents,  (e) new deal for disabled people,  (f) new deal for parents in West Lancashire constituency have (i) entered employment and (ii) entered sustainable employment.

Stephen Timms: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  New deal in Lancashire West 
			  Programme  Individual starts  Of which :  into employment  Of which :  into sustained employment 
			 New deal for young people 2,220 1,550 1,330 
			 New deal 25 plus 1,060 400 320 
			 New deal 50 plus 140 (1)100  
			 New deal for lone parents 1,610 1,160 690 
			 New deal for disabled people 460 250  
			 New deal for partners 20 10  
			 (1) Information in the table for new deal 50 plus is from January 2004 when data for starts to the programme first became available. The total number of people who have been helped into work through new deal 50 plus since April 2000 in West Lancashire is 370.  Notes: 1. Information on sustained jobs for new deal for disabled people is not available at parliamentary constituency level. 2. A definition of sustainability is not available for new deal 50 plus and new deal for partners. 3. A job obtained through new deal for young people and new deal 25 plus is defined as sustained if no return to jobseeker's allowance is made within 13 weeks of a person leaving these new deals. For new deal for lone parents, a sustained job is a job recorded as lasting at least 13 weeks as measured through the Work and Pensions longitudinal study. 4. Information at parliamentary constituency level for new deal for partners is only available from April 2004. 5. Starts and jobs data in the table for all new deals is to may 2007 to provide comparative starts and jobs data. Data for starts is available to August 2007 and data for jobs to May 2007. 6. Programme start dates are: New deal for young people: January 1998; New deal 25 plus: July 1998; New deal for lone parents: October 1998; New deal for partners: April 1999; New deal 50 plus: April 2000; New deal for disabled people: July 2001. 7. Data is rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: DWP Information Directorate

New Deal Schemes: Lancashire

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many participants have taken part in  (a) the new deal for young people,  (b) new deal 25 plus,  (c) new deal 50 plus,  (d) new deal for lone parents,  (e) new deal for disabled people and  (f) new deal for parents in West Lancashire constituency in each month since inception.

Stephen Timms: The available information has been placed in the Library.

Pension Credit

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of claimants who were underpaid pension credit in 2006-07 have now received their full entitlement for that year.

Mike O'Brien: The information requested is not available.

Unemployment

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of children lived in workless households in each year since 1997.

James Plaskitt: Since 1997, the proportion of children living in workless households has fallen from 18.7 per cent to 16 per cent. in Quarter 2 of 2007. This is a reduction of over 405,000.
	The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  P roportion of children living in workless households in each year since 1997 (Great Britain) 
			   Percentage 
			  Quarter 2  
			 1997 18.7 
			 1998 (1)18.5 
			 1999 17.8 
			 2000 (1)16.4 
			 2001 16.2 
			 2002 16.7 
			 2003 16.1 
			 2004 15.9 
			 2005 15.7 
			 2006 15.6 
			 2007 16.0 
			 (1 )There is no available calendar data for Q2 1998 and Q2 2000. This is because the figures for those years, published by the ONS, were erroneous and have been retracted while under review. For these two years, spring data has been inserted in the table above, although it is important to note that the spring data is not directly comparable with Q2 data.  Notes: 1. Definition of the proportion of children living in a working-age workless household is the percentage of children aged under 16 in a working-age household where no adult works. A working-age household is a household that includes at least one person of working age (a woman aged between 16 and 59 or a man aged between 16 and 64). Workless individuals are those who are either International Labour Organisation unemployed or economically inactive (that is, not in employment). 2. Quarter 2 is April to June. 3. The data provided differs from the data on children in workless households published by the ONS for Great Britain: the data provided has been adjusted by DWP for households with unknown economic activity, while the ONS published data for Great Britain is unadjusted. 4. The DWP adjusted data for GB is used in measuring progress towards reducing the number of children in workless households to help inform the delivery of the child poverty PSA. The data has been previously published in a chart on page 19 of the 2007 DWP Autumn Performance Report.  Source:  DWP estimate using Labour Force Survey

Wikipedia

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 2806-7W, on Wikipedia, how many Wikipedia entries have been  (a) created and  (b) amended from IP addresses from the central pool.

Anne McGuire: The Department of Work and Pensions does not have a policy of regularly monitoring updates made to Wikipedia from DWP IPinternet protocoladdresses. Therefore the Department would not as a matter of course determine Wikipedia entries that have been created or amended. The cost of obtaining and analysing such data could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Community Development

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions her Department has had with the  (a) Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and  (b) higher education sector on community cohesion issues.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department has worked closely with the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) on community cohesion issues, particularly: on the citizens' juries to examine provision of English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) held in London and Hull in December 2007; and the DIUS stakeholder steering group established to discuss community cohesion, and tackling extremism throughout post-16 education, which includes bodies from both the further education and higher education sectors.

Construction: Inspections

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to revise inspection processes affecting the construction industry.

Iain Wright: The Future of Building Control consultation launched on 18 March puts forward plans to modernise the inspection regime for those seeking building control approval and also sets the expectation that planning and building control departments should work closely together to provide a seamless service to the customer.
	The Government are consulting on the following changes that will have a direct impact on the current inspection regime applied to building projects.
	Removing statutory notification stages which will stop builders having to make unnecessary calls to building control and will require local authorities to take a more risk-based approach to their work which will stop unnecessary inspections.
	Limiting the use of building notices to ensure local authorities have more up-front information at the start of the project in order for them to direct their limited time and resources at high-risk projects, thus allowing a lighter-touch regime for good builders and low risk projects that are likely to comply.
	Continuing to encourage other ways for builders to show compliance in addition to the traditional inspection routespecifically expanding and improving the Competent Persons schemes (self-certification by registered installers).
	Raising awareness among the construction industry by providing new guidance to make it easier to meet the regulations and to better understand how the system works.
	The consultation closes on 10 June.

Discrimination

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many claims for discrimination, based on  (a) sex,  (b) race and  (c) sexual orientation, were brought by members of her Department and its predecessors and settled (i) in and (ii) out of court in each of the last five years.

Parmjit Dhanda: Since the formation of our predecessor Department, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, there has been a total of seven such claims, each of which was settled outside employment tribunal.
	We cannot further disaggregate this information because of the risk of identifying individuals.

Eco-Towns: West Sussex

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  whether her Department invited Wates construction company to submit an application for a proposed eco-town at Ford in West Sussex;
	(2)  what discussions she has had with Wates construction company on the proposed eco-town at Ford in West Sussex; and on what dates she has held meetings with Wates for that purpose since 1 January 2005.

Caroline Flint: No developers have been invited directly by the Department to submit an application for a proposed eco-town.
	The Secretary of State has held no discussions or meetings with Wates Construction Co. since 1 January 2005.

Festivals and Special Occasions

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department is taking to mark Saint George's day on 23 April 2008.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport issue the guidance for flying flags on Government buildings. This includes recommending flying the St. George's flag on St. George's day on 23 April on buildings with two or more flag poles, provided it is flown alongside the Union flag with the Union flag in the superior position.
	Two of CLG's HQ buildings, Eland House and Ashdown House, have a second flag pole, and the St. George's flag will be flown on these to celebrate St. George's day.
	The Secretary of State has also written to the Local Government Association urging them to encourage all local authorities to think about how they might mark St. George's day in their own area.

Fire Safety: Construction Methods

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the LPS1181 standard in ensuring the fire safety of public buildings, with particular reference to the use of cladding panes in combustible foam plastic insulation.

Iain Wright: LPS1181 is a loss prevention standard used primarily by the insurance industry. This standard provides a method for assessing the fire performance of cladding systems with respect to potential economic loss in the event of a fire.
	Current statutory provisions and supporting standards for fire protection in buildings are made only for the purposes of securing the health and safety of people in and around buildings, not to reduce economic loss. No such assessment, therefore, has been made.

Higher Education

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress the task force on studentification has made; and which higher education sector bodies have been involved in the taskforce.

Iain Wright: We have commissioned researchers to undertake a short evidence-gathering exercise to identify a range of planning and non-planning measures that could help to create and maintain balance in areas of high student population. The researchers will present the emerging findings of this work to invited participants at a seminar on 9 April. We have invited representatives of local planning authorities, residents groups, the national HMOhouses in multiple occupationlobby, universities, landlords, and interested charities to the seminar. Their contribution will assist in formulating the way forward on this issue. The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills will also be represented. External bodies invited to participate in the seminar include Universities UK, the Guild of Higher Education, Unipol, the College and University Business Officers and individual universities.

Housing: Planning

Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance she issues to local authorities on the management of annual quotas of planning applications for residential development.

Iain Wright: 'Planning Policy Statement 3 Housing' (PPS3) sets out the national planning framework for delivering the Government's objectives for high quality housing in suitable locations which will contribute to the creation of mixed and sustainable communities. PPS3 asks local authorities to identify specific, suitable sites in their plans, including a rolling five year supply of land for housing, to enable them to deliver the housing numbers and brownfield targets allocated to them in regional spatial strategies. These sites should take into account the spatial vision for the local area and objectives set out in the relevant regional spatial strategy, and reflect clear and informed strategies for the location of housing development, and for the infrastructure needed to service it.
	The policies in PPS3 should be taken into account by local planning authorities in the preparation of their local development frameworks. They should also be regarded as material considerations in determining planning applications for new housing development which may supercede the policies in existing development plans.

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service: Standards

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the recent performance of Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service; and if she will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Audit Commission regularly assesses the performance of all fire and rescue authorities.
	In 2005's Comprehensive Performance Assessment the Audit Commission assessed Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority as Excellent. In January 2008, the Audit Commission published its Performance Assessment for Fire and Rescue Authorities. Merseyside Fire and Rescue was assessed as Improving Well in Direction of Travel with the highest score of four for Use of Resources.

Property Development

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what arrangements are in place to ensure building owners provide affected parties with adequate notice of their intentions to build under the Party Wall Act 1996.

Iain Wright: This is a civil matter between the relevant parties (the building owner and the adjoining owners). If a building owner starts work without having first given notice in the proper way, adjoining owners may seek to stop the work through a court injunction or seek other legal redress.
	The Department publishes an explanatory booklet which sets out the rights and responsibilities of both parties. It also gives information and guidance which individuals may find useful, such as sample letters.
	Hard copies of the booklet are available free of charge from Communities Free Literature, PO Box 236, Wetherby, West Yorkshire, LS23 7NB, tel: 0870 1226 236, fax: 0870 1226 237, textphone: 0870 1207 405, e-mail: communities@twoten.com It is also available to download from the Planning Portal at: www.planningportal.gov.uk and from the Department's website at: www.communities.gov.uk/partywall-1996

Public Lavatories

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate her Department has made of the change in the number of municipal public conveniences in the last 10 years.

Iain Wright: The provision and maintenance of toilets in public places is at the discretion of local authorities who have, under section 87 of the Public Health Act 1936, a power to provide public conveniences, but no duty to do so. For this reason statistical data on changes in the number of municipal public conveniences is not held by CLG. The Department's Strategic Guide on Improving Public Access to Better Quality Toilets, published on 6 March, includes information showing that a number of public toilets have closed over many years. This was based on figures compiled by the Audit Commission until 2000, and Valuation Office Agency data used for rating commercial and industrial property.

Regional Ministers: Visits

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many official visits regional Ministers have made to each constituency in the area for which they are responsible.

Hazel Blears: Constituencies visited by regional Ministers (in this capacity) are set out as follows. Due to the role of regional Minister, which involves regional or sub-regional meetings, the Minister usually attends a meeting held in that area rather than visiting a constituency per se. The following information is correct up to and including 7 March 2008.
	
		
			  The Minister for the South East 
			  Constituency  Number of visits 
			 Aylesbury 1 
			 Buckingham 1 
			 Dover 1 
			 Folkestone and Hythe 1 
			 Gillingham 1 
			 Guildford 1 
			 Hastings 1 
			 Lewes 1 
			 Maidstone and the Weald 1 
			 Mole Valley 1 
			 New Forest West 1 
			 North East Hampshire 1 
			 North West Hampshire 2 
			 Oxford East 1 
			 Portsmouth South 2 
			 Reading East 1 
			 Reading West 2 
			 Thanet South 1 
			 Tonbridge and Malling 1 
			 Wantage 1 
			 Winchester 1 
		
	
	
		
			  The Minister for the East of England 
			  Constituency  Number of visits 
			 Bury St. Edmunds 1 
			 Cambridge 1 
			 Great Yarmouth 1 
			 Ipswich 1 
			 Norwich South 1 
			 Peterborough 2 
			 South Cambridgeshire 4 
			 Stevenage 2 
			 Waveney 2 
			 West Suffolk 2 
			 South East Cambs 3 
		
	
	
		
			  The Minister for the South West 
			  Constituency  Number of visits 
			 Bournemouth East 1 
			 Bournemouth West 1 
			 Bristol North West 1 
			 Bristol West 1 
			 Cheltenham 1 
			 Devon South West 1 
			 Exeter 4 
			 Gloucester 1 
			 Plymouth Devonport 2 
			 Poole 1 
			 South East Cornwall 1 
			 Swindon South 1 
			 Taunton 2 
			 Tewkesbury 1 
			 Truro and St. Austell 1 
			 Westbury 1 
		
	
	
		
			  The Minister for Yorkshire and the Humber 
			  Constituency  Number of visits 
			  Rosie Winterton from 27 January  
			 Doncaster Central 1 
			 City of York 2 
			 Leeds Central 4 
			 Morley and Rothwell 1 
			 Wakefield 1 
			 Wentworth 1 
			 Bradford West 1 
			 Bradford North 1 
			   
			  Caroline Flint to 2 July 2007 to  26 January 2008  
			 Barnsley Central 1 
			 Bradford West 1 
			 City of York 1 
			 Don Valley 4 
			 Doncaster Central 2 
			 Doncaster North 1 
			 Hull North 2 
			 Hull West and Hessle 1 
			 Leeds Central 3 
			 Rydale 1 
			 Scarborough and Whitby 1 
			 Wakefield 2 
		
	
	
		
			  The Minister for the East Midlands 
			  Constituency  Number of visits 
			  Gillian Merron to 26 January 2008  
			 Lincoln 2 
			 Louth and Horncastle 1 
			 Leicester West 1 
			 Leicester South 1 
			 North West Leicestershire 1 
			 Rushcliffe 1 
			 Sherwood 1 
			 Newark 1 
			 Nottingham East 2 
			 Nottingham South 4 
			 Boston and Skegness 1 
			 Derby South 2 
			 Corby 1 
			 Kettering 1 
			 Northampton South 1 
			 Grantham and Stamford 1 
			 Leicester East 1 
			  Phil Hope from 26 January 2008  
			 Corby 1 
		
	
	
		
			  The Minister for the North West 
			  Constituency  Number of visits 
			 Blackburn 1 
			 Bolton South East 1 
			 Bootle 1 
			 Burnley 1 
			 Ellesmere Port and Neston 1 
			 Fylde 1 
			 Knowsley South 1 
			 Liverpool Riverside 3 
			 Liverpool Walton 1 
			 Liverpool West Derby 1 
			 Manchester Central 5 
			 Penrith and The Border 1 
			 Preston 3 
			 Salford 3 
			 St. Helens North 1 
			 Warrington South 1 
			 Westmorland and Lonsdale 1 
			  Note: Some of the regional Minister for the North West's meetings have taken place in her office base at Government office for the north-west, situated in the Manchester Central constituency. 
		
	
	
		
			  The Minister for London 
			  Constituency  Number of visits 
			 Cities of London and Westminster 7 
			 Croydon Central 1 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 1 
			 Hendon 1 
			 Hornsey and Wood Green 1 
			 North Southwark and Bermondsey 2 
			 West Ham 1 
		
	
	
		
			  The Minister for the West Midlands 
			  Constituency  Number of visits 
			 Birmingham Ladywood 4 
			 Birmingham Northfield 1 
			 Bromyard 1 
			 Coventry North East 1 
			 Coventry South 1 
			 Ludlow 1 
			 Newcastle-under-Lyme 1 
			 North Warwickshire 3 
			 Stoke on Trent Central 2 
			 Stratford on Avon 1 
			 Telford 2 
			 West Bromwich East 1 
			 West Worcestershire 1 
			 Wolverhampton South East 2 
		
	
	 The Minister for the North East
	In carrying out his duties as Minister for the North East Nick Brown has paid visits to the following constituencies at least once:
	Wansbeck
	City of Durham
	Newcastle Central
	Stockton North
	Stockton South
	Newcastle Upon Tyne North
	Sunderland North
	Sunderland South
	Tyne Bridge
	Newcastle East and Wallsend
	Redcar
	Easington
	Blaydon
	Jarrow
	Middlesbrough
	North Tyneside
	Houghton and Washington East
	Blyth Valley
	North Durham
	Hexham

Wind Power: Northumberland

Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on what grounds she is reviewing her earlier decision not to call in the Moorsyde wind farm application in Northumberland; and if she will place in the Library copies of any new information which she is considering in this review.

John Healey: holding answer 25 March 2008
	 My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, is reviewing her decision on 12 December 2006 not to intervene in the planning application by Moorsyde Wind Farm Ltd for a wind farm at Felkington, because new information has become available and because the scale of the application has also changed materially since the decision. The Secretary of State wishes to satisfy herself that her decision remains soundly based in the light of this information.
	I have deposited a copy of the Climate Change Supplement to the Government's Planning Policy Statement 1 (PPS1), a report called: 'Wind Farm Development and Landscape Capacity Studies: South and West Berwick-upon-Tweed', commissioned for the North East Assembly, Northumberland county council and Berwick-upon-Tweed borough council, and the borough council officers' report to elected members on the application.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan: Foreign Relations

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of bilateral relations with Afghanistan.

Kim Howells: The UK remains committed to the long term reconstruction and development of Afghanistan. Good progress has been made. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, visited Afghanistan on 7 February 2008. This long-planned visit reaffirmed the strong relationship both the UK and US have with Afghanistan.

Afghanistan: Public Appointments

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many candidatures for the role of UN Secretary General's Special Representative in Afghanistan his officials have discussed with the UN.

Kim Howells: The UK is committed to supporting the UN's role in Afghanistan, led by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General. The appointment of the Special Representative is a matter for the UN Secretary-General. We were aware that various candidates had been suggested for the post and offered our views on these when asked by the UN. We warmly welcome the appointment of Kai Eide and look forward to working closely with him as he undertakes the vital role of co-ordinating the efforts of the international community in Afghanistan.

Burma: Sanctions

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what criteria were used in deciding to establish EU sanctions against Burmese companies.

Meg Munn: The EU Common Position on Burma dates back to 1996 and imposes restrictive measures on members of the military regime, the military and security forces, the military regime's economic interests and other individuals, groups, undertakings or entities associated with the military regime who formulate, implement or benefit from policies that impede Burma's transition to democracy, and their families and associates.
	In November 2007, the EU strengthened the Common Position to add further state economic enterprises to the investment ban extant on Burmese state owned enterprises. Further restrictive measures include a ban on trade and investment in the timber, gemstones and other extractive industries, which provide a source of revenue for the military regime, including companies trading in these commodities.
	In drawing up these measures, the aim of the EU is to target those closely associated with the regime and to minimise the impact on ordinary Burmese citizens.

China: Olympic Games

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government plan to take if there is political violence in China when the 2008 Olympics take place.

Meg Munn: Our embassy in Beijing has a country contingency plan which will be implemented in the event of a crisis which endangers British nationals, and those we have consular responsibility for in China, during the 2008 Olympics.

Commonwealth Scholarship Commission: Finance

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he had with the  (a) Commonwealth Scholarship Commission and  (b) others before deciding to end his Department's funding for new awards with effect from 2009-10.

Jim Murphy: The 2006 review of Chevening scholarships was based on broad consultations with a range of stakeholders, including other Government Departments and outside organisations. Officials have been in regular, close contact with the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary had no discussions himself with the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission.

Commonwealth Scholarship Commission: Finance

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with  (a) UK universities and  (b) universities in Commonwealth countries on the effect that the withdrawal of his Department's support for Commonwealth scholarships will have on the ability of Commonwealth students to attend UK universities.

Jim Murphy: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has had no such discussions, but officials have regular contact with UK universities. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is withdrawing funding for Commonwealth scholarships only for developed Commonwealth countries. Overall, Government funding for Commonwealth scholarships will be higher in each of the next three years than it is in the current academic year. Students from developed Commonwealth countries are still eligible for Chevening scholarships: and a large number of students from developed Commonwealth countries study in the UK funded from other sources.

Cuba: Foreign Relations

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his Department's policy is on relations with Cuba following the resignation of Fidel Castro.

Meg Munn: There is no change in UK policy following the resignation of Fidel Castro. UK policy continues to be based on the EU Common Position, as it has been since 1996, and aims to encourage a peaceful transition to pluralist democracy, greater respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and release of all political prisoners.

Departmental Complaints

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the budget for his Department's grievances and counter-narrative team was in each year since it was established; how much the team spent on external consultants in each year; how many  (a) full-time and  (b) part-time staff work in the team; and when the team was established.

Kim Howells: holding answer 20 March 2008
	The grievances and counter-narrative team was established in December 2007 following the restructuring of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Counter Terrorism Department.
	The team has not completed its first year so no figures for annual expenditure yet exist. The number of people working in the team varies, but has not dropped below six full-time staff. It has not hired any external consultants.

Departmental Official Visits

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the cost was of overnight accommodation for  (a) civil servants,  (b) special advisers and  (c) Ministers in his Department staying overnight in (i) mainland Great Britain, (ii) Northern Ireland, (iii) the Republic of Ireland and (iv) other countries in the last 12 months.

Meg Munn: Both in the UK and overseas, staff are paid subsistence to compensate for the additional costs of being away from home on official duty. Subsistence covers the cost of a room in a typical hotel and the costs of meals and other incidentals. Each post has a different daily subsistence rate depending on different economic conditions. Depending on local circumstances, Posts will normally book and pay for any hotel rooms direct, charging this back to the departmental cost centre for the member of staff involved. Our policy is to use standard hotels in the city concerned, typically non-luxury business hotels reasonably close to the Post.
	In the UK, there is no automatic entitlement to subsistence. Where this does apply, staff can claim actual costs for bed and breakfast in inner London up to a maximum of 120 per night, elsewhere in the UK 80 per night.
	Current electronic data in the UK show that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office spent the following on hotel accommodation between 1 March 2007 and 29 February 2008:
	UK: 64,616.11
	Overseas: 861,862.92
	However, this information is subject to the following caveats:
	the figures shown are only those where total expenditure has been paid; and
	the figures provided are only those held electronically in the UK. Posts overseas may also have paid individually for accommodation during this period, but our systems are not able to separate out the sums spent by overseas posts on overnight accommodation from other travel expenses.
	There is no centrally held record of the cost of overnight accommodation for Ministers or special advisers over the last 12 months. To collate this information would therefore incur disproportionate cost.

Departmental Publications

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he plans to publish a White Paper on the new strategic framework for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

David Miliband: The key points of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) new strategic framework were set out in my written ministerial statement of 23 January 2008,  Official Report, columns 52-53WS. Additionally, I wrote to all hon. Members and Peers, enclosing a leaflet titled 'Better World, Better Britain', with further information about the strategic framework. Further details will be available on the FCO website at
	www.fco.gov.uk
	from 28 March 2008 and in the forthcoming FCO departmental report.

Iran: Elections

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Iran on its decision to prevent reformist candidates from standing in the recent elections.

Kim Howells: The UK strongly supports the EU presidency statement of 15 March 2008 which said that the recent parliamentary elections in Iran were 'neither free nor fair' and that 'the Iranian people deserve a genuine democratic choice about their country's future'. We were deeply disappointed that Iran's Interior Ministry and Guardian Council disqualified over a third of all prospective candidates who registered to stand, including a large proportion of reformist candidates. This denied the Iranian electorate their right to choose from candidates representing the full range of political views in their country and make a genuine democratic choice about how they are governed. We do not wish to take sides in Iran's internal debates, but together with the EU we will continue to stand up for the internationally recognised principles to which many Iranians aspire including freedom of speech and transparent, genuinely democratic and accountable government.

Simon Mann

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 865-6W, on Simon Mann, whether an explanation has now been given by the Equatorial Guinean authorities; and what action he intends to take.

Meg Munn: holding answer 25 March 2008
	The Equatorial Guinean authorities have told us that Simon Mann is shackled because they deem him to be a terrorist suspect and therefore a high security risk.
	We do not believe this is a reasonable position for the authorities to take and we have been taking a number of welfare points forward with the authorities, including the fact that Mr. Mann is shackled and handcuffed. We will continue to follow these up.

Simon Mann

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 28 February 2008,  Official Report, columns 1822W, on Simon Mann, what action has been taken in following up the specific consular and welfare concerns referred to; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: holding answer 25 March 2008
	We have raised specific consular and welfare concerns regarding Simon Mann with the Equatorial Guinean authorities. Our ambassador to Equatorial Guinea, resident in Abuja, met President Obiang on 6 March and raised Mr. Mann's welfare. We will continue to follow these issues up with the Equatorial Guinea authorities.

Simon Mann

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he intends to take in the week beginning 24 March to monitor the  (a) treatment and  (b) risk of torture of Mr. Simon Mann in Black Beach Prison, Equatorial Guinea; and what procedures are in place to ensure that any inhumane treatment of this prisoner is brought to his attention.

Meg Munn: holding answer 25 March 2008
	 Our consul from the British deputy high commission in Lagos was refused consular access to Simon Mann during his last visit to Equatorial Guinea in March. We have expressed our concern to the Equatorial Guinea authorities and are urgently seeking another consular visit. The authorities have offered assurances that Mr. Mann will be treated well while in detention, but we have made our concerns clear regarding his shackling. His welfare remains our primary concern.

Tibet: Politics and Government

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the government of China on the situation in Tibet.

Meg Munn: We have expressed our concern to the Chinese authorities both in Beijing and London about events in Tibet and the surrounding region. We continue to urge them to respect fully the human rights of those detained; to avoid use of excessive force in dealing with riots; and to respect freedom of expression and religion in Tibet. We also call on the protesters, in Lhasa and elsewhere, to desist from further violence. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister spoke to Chinese Premier Wen on 19 March urging the Chinese government to address the underlying issues by re-engaging in dialogue with the Dalai Lama and his representatives.

Tibet: Protest

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on Chinese Government actions in relation to Tibetan protesters.

Meg Munn: Our Embassy in Beijing is sending us daily updates on the situation in Tibet. Chinese authorities have acknowledged the deaths of eighteen people in Lhasa on 14 and 15 March. Unconfirmed reports from non-governmental organisations put the figure higher. We have reports that following disturbances on 14 March, Chinese security forces deployed around Lhasa early on 15 March and continued to deploy in large numbers over the next few days. The Chinese Government has assured us they did not use lethal force in Lhasa. We have told the Chinese authorities that it is important for the public to have accurate facts and that lifting restrictions on the access of journalists to the region would be in the best interests of China. We continue to urge the Chinese authorities to respect fully the human rights of those detained; to exercise maximum restraint in restoring public order; and to respect freedom of expression and religion in Tibet. We have also called on the protesters, in Lhasa and elsewhere, to desist from further violence.

Tibet: Protest

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government have taken to urge the Chinese Government to show restraint in relation to the recent protests in Lhasa.

Meg Munn: We have expressed our concern to and have remained in contact with the Chinese authorities both in Beijing and London regarding events in Tibet and the surrounding region. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister spoke to Chinese Premier Wen on 19 March urging the Chinese Government to address the underlying issues by re-engaging in dialogue without preconditions with the Dalai Lama and his representatives. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary also spoke to Chinese Foreign Minister Yang on 21 March, further emphasising the need for dialogue. We continue to urge the Chinese authorities to respect fully the human rights of those detained; to exercise maximum restraint in restoring public order; and to respect freedom of expression and religion in Tibet. We have also called on the protesters, in Lhasa and elsewhere, to desist from further violence.

USA: Defence

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the  (a) reasons for and  (b) possible outcome of the US House Appropriations Subcommittee hearings into the US Air Force award of a $40 billion contract to Northrop Grumman and EADS; what discussions (i) he, (ii) members of his Department and (iii) UK representatives in Washington have had with members of the US House of Representatives on the (A) financial and (B) employment implications in the UK of a possible reversal of the US Air Force's decision; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
	The tanker aircraft to be supplied by Northrop Grumman/EADS under this contract will have 16 per cent. UK content and the financial value of the programme's first tranche of 179 aircraft is estimated to be worth up to $4.6 billion to the UK. We continue to monitor closely the outcome of the competition given its industrial significance to the UK, including the progress of the US House Appropriations Subcommittee hearings.

Written Questions

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will answer Question  (a) 190947,  (b) 191153,  (c) 191154 and  (d) 191042, on the use of Diego Garcia for rendition flights, tabled on 27 February 2008.

David Miliband: I replied to the right hon. Member on 18 March 2008 in respect of questions 191042,  Official Report, column 1031W, 191153, 191154,  Official  Report, column 1034W, and on 20 March 2008 for question 190947,  Official Report, column 1288W.

Written Questions

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will answer question 191151, on negotiations with Iran, tabled on 27 February 2008.

David Miliband: I replied to the right hon. Member on 18 March 2008.

HEALTH

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps the Government have taken to improve healthcare services for those with alcohol addiction.

Dawn Primarolo: In 2005 and 2006, we published guidance for local health organisations and their partners, to support delivery and improvement of local programmes for alcohol misuse interventions, 'Alcohol Misuse Interventions: Guidance on developing a local programme of improvement and Models of care for alcohol misusers'.
	To test out the best ways to identify and provide advice to people who are drinking more than is good for them, the Department has commissioned a programme of trailblazers to pilot identification and brief advice that is under way in general practitioner (GP) practices, accident and emergency departments and in probation departments, in 57 locations.
	We have put in place a new national health service indicator to measure the change in the rate of hospital admissions for alcohol related harm from April 2008the first ever national commitment to monitor how the NHS is tackling alcohol health harms.
	This indicator is expected to encourage primary care trusts (PCTs) to invest in earlier identification of people who drink too much, linked to advice and support from GPs or other health care staffshown to be the best way of reducing the kind of everyday drinking which over time leads to liver disease and other problems, including dependency.
	Since 2007-08 we have provided PCTs with an extra 15 million of additional funding to improve alcohol interventions. The National Audit Office will carry out an audit of NHS spend on alcohol interventions and specialist treatment, with a report expected this autumn.
	Over the next three years, the Government will be actively supporting the full implementation of the published guidance, 'Substance Misuse in the Undergraduate Medical Curriculum'.
	This major development will, over the next 10 years, ensure around 60,000 new doctors leaving medical training in England will be able to deliver competent practice in both drug and alcohol misuse, includingas a crucial priority for implementationthe recognition and the management of risky and harmful alcohol consumption.
	We have allocated 650,000 in 2008-09 for the developmental work medical schools will need to carry out, to embed such an integrated substance misuse curriculum into core teaching and training programmes.

Ambulances: Accidents

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many accidents there were involving ambulances on emergency calls in  (a) Castle Point constituency and  (b) Essex in each of the last five years.

Ben Bradshaw: Information about the number of accidents involving ambulances on emergency calls is not collected centrally.
	The only data collected in relation to ambulance services is the number of emergency calls received by ambulance trusts across England, and their performances against the targets set. This is published annually.

Antidepressants: Misuse

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken to tackle addiction to prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants.

Dawn Primarolo: There is no conclusive evidence that antidepressants such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are addictive, in that they do not appear to lead to tolerance or dependence-forming, hence the Department has not implemented any policies to deal with this issue.
	However, we know that some patients will experience withdrawal reactions on stopping or reducing their use of SSRIs, and in some cases the withdrawal reactions may be severe and disabling.
	In 2005, the expert working group of the then Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) reported on the safety of SSRIs, which the Department currently regards as definitive. The CSM recommended that no one taking SSRIs should stop this treatment without prior discussion with their prescribing doctor, that SSRI usage should not stop suddenly, and that dosage should be reduced gradually at the end of a course of treatment.

Benzodiazepines: Misuse

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health by what means the National Treatment Agency measures outcomes for involuntary benzodiazepine addicts.

Dawn Primarolo: Activity data is collected by specialist drug treatment services on all clients/addicts in treatment and reported into the National Drug Treatment Monitoring Service (NDTMS). NDTMS collects data including numbers and retention in treatment and whether clients have completed treatment.
	A new outcome monitoring tool, the Treatment Outcomes Profile (TOP), will also now be used for all clients in specialist treatment for drug misuse from April 2008. This will record a range of outcome measures which include the amount and range of drugs taken in each of the last four weeks and measures of health and social functioning. Some initial TOP data will be published by May 2008.
	The National Treatment Agency (NTA) provides a range of support guidance to Drug Action Teams and to treatment providers. Most recently the NTA and the Department published Drug misuse and dependence: UK guidelines on clinical management (2007), which includes a detailed section on the management of benzodiazepines. The NTA also oversee the NDTMS and TOPs databases.

Care Homes: Fees and Charges

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has made a recent estimate of the appropriate savings threshold above which the elderly should have to pay for their own care in nursing homes; and if he will consider a review of this threshold.

Ivan Lewis: The capital limit above which care home residents are assessed as being able to fund their own care is set out in the National Assistance (Assessment of Resources) Regulations 1992. The capital limit is uprated annually in line with the increase in average earnings. The capital limit was uprated to 21,500 from April 2007. The Department will shortly be announcing the uprated capital limit to apply from April 2008.
	However, in the 2007 pre-Budget report and comprehensive spending review, the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Alistair Darling) announced a Green Paper to set out options for the reform of the current care and support system.
	The Department has asked the Commission for Social Care Inspection to undertake a review of the eligibility criteria. They will report in autumn 2008.

Childbirth

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many births per whole-time equivalent NHS midwife there were at  (a) West Suffolk,  (b) Addenbrookes and  (c) Ipswich hospitals in each of the last five years.

Ivan Lewis: Information is not available in the format requested.

Dental Services

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps the Government have taken to improve accessibility of NHS dentistry treatment.

Ann Keen: The Department has made increasing the number of patients seen within national health service dental services a formal priority in the NHS Operating Framework for 2008-09. We have supported this with a very substantial 11 per cent., uplift in overall dental funding allocations to primary care trusts from 1 April 2008.

Departmental Manpower

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) staff and  (b) full-time equivalent staff under 18 years are employed by his Department.

Ben Bradshaw: No staff under the age of 18 are employed by the Department in either a full-time or part-time capacity.

Departmental Pensions

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of staff in his Department were making additional voluntary contributions to their pensions in each of the last two years.

Ben Bradshaw: In February 2007, 13 members of staff in the Department (0.6 per cent. of the total number of staff employed by the Department) were making additional voluntary pension contributions through deductions from their pay. The same number and proportion of members of staff (again, 0.6 per cent.) were making additional voluntary pension contributions in February 2008.

Departmental Surveys

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what costs his Department incurred in  (a) designing, printing and distributing and  (b) analysing the results of the Ipsos MORI GP Patient Survey on Hospital Choice.

Ben Bradshaw: In 2007-08, we expect the total costs for all elements of the 'general practitioner patient survey' to cost approximately 10 million. This includes costs to conduct both the access and choice components of the Survey. It is not possible to give a more detailed breakdown as this would require disclosure of commercially sensitive information provided by our suppliers. In 2006-07, the total costs incurred by the Department for the same survey was 9,586,520.

Drugs: Rehabilitation

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funds have been made available to Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust to further the Government's 2008 drug strategy Tackling drugs, changing lives.

Dawn Primarolo: Since 2001, the Department of Health and the Home Office have provided specific resources for drug treatment in the form of the pooled drug treatment budget (PTB), which is allocated to drug action teams across the country. This is used along with local mainstream funding, to provide treatment and services according to specific local needs. The allocation for Oxfordshire from the PTB for 2008-09 is 3,763,816.

Folic Acid: Flour

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans the Food Standards Agency has in relation to their proposals for the mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid; what matters relating to the proposals are under consideration by the Agency; over what timescale he expects the Agency to proceed with their proposals; with whom the Agency will consult on the proposals; and how he plans to consult the natural health products industry on the likely  (a) financial and  (b) health effects of the proposals;
	(2)  what recent representations he has received from  (a) manufacturers and  (b) retailers of food supplements on the proposed introduction of limits on the levels of folic acid permitted in such products as a result of the proposals of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) for the mandatory fortification of flour with folate; and whether the FSA plans to undertake further modelling of the implications of its proposals.

Dawn Primarolo: In June 2007, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) recommended mandatory fortification with folic acid of bread or flour alongside controls on voluntary fortification and guidance on supplement use to United Kingdom Health Ministers. In October 2007, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) wrote to the FSA to request a further expert view of the evidence on folic acid and colorectal cancer (CRC) risk.
	On the basis of expert advice FSA have advised the CMO that they will defer agreeing their final advice on CRC risk until the results of ongoing trials are available in early 2009.
	In the meantime, FSA officials will continue their discussions with industry about controls on voluntary fortification in food and caps on the levels of folic acid in supplements as there are 106,000 people in the UK exceeding the upper limit for folic acid from dietary and supplement sources. It is therefore important to control voluntary fortification and intake through supplements to ensure there is no further increase in these numbers.
	The FSA has received representations from the trade associations of food supplements manufacturers and retailers regarding proposed controls on folic acid containing food supplements, capping folic acid at 200 micrograms. Information has been provided to the FSA on the types of products on the market containing folic acid and the recommended daily dosage. The FSA will undertake further modelling and the results will be discussed with the supplements industry.

General Practitioners

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether a decision has been taken on the locations of the 150 general practitioner-led health centres to be introduced in each primary care trust.

Ben Bradshaw: Primary care trusts are currently talking to local stakeholders, including clinicians and patients, to determine the locations of these services based on local health need. It is unlikely that exact locations will be decided upon until the outcomes of local consultations have been considered.

Health Services: Voluntary Organisations

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of contracts awarded to third sector organisations that provide services in  (a) Lincolnshire and  (b) England are three-year contracts.

Ivan Lewis: Information on the proportion of three year contracts awarded to third sector providers is not collected centrally. However, the Department fully supports the expectation that Government Departments pass on the certainty of longer-term funding, where appropriate, to the third sector organisations that they and their agencies fund.
	The Office of the Third Sector has proposed a staged approach to implementing three-year funding. The Department will work between now and 31 October 2008, to establish the arrangements needed to ensure reporting in 2009 on the proportion of funding arrangements between primary care trusts (PCTs) and third sector organisations that allow for three year funding, that does not impose unnecessary burdens on PCTs.
	The 2008-09 NHS Operating Framework included the message that PCTs should not feel prevented from entering into three year agreements with local partners including small and medium enterprises and the third sector that establish practical measures to maximise their capacity to deliver health and well-being outcomes.

Incontinence: Medical Equipment

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are prescribed  (a) stoma and  (b) other incontinence products as part of their treatment in the London borough of Havering.

Dawn Primarolo: Information about the number of people who are prescribed stoma and other incontinence products as part of their treatment is not held centrally. The following table shows the number of appliances prescribed by general practitioners (GPs), nurses, pharmacists and other non-medical prescribers working in Havering Primary Care Trust (PCT) area that were dispensed in 2007.
	
		
			   Number 
			 Stoma Appliances 9,892 
			 Incontinence Appliances 5,860 
			  Notes: 1. This information was obtained from the Prescribing Analysis and Cost Tool (PACT) system, which covers prescriptions by GPs, nurses, pharmacists and others in England that are dispensed in the community in the United Kingdom. 2. For data at PCT level, prescriptions written by a prescriber located in a particular PCT but dispensed outside that PCT will be included in the PCT in which the prescriber is based. 3. Prescriptions written in England but dispensed outside England are included. 4. Prescriptions written in hospitals /clinics that are dispensed in the community, prescriptions dispensed in hospitals and private prescriptions are not included in PACT data. It is important to note this as items from some sections of the British National Formulary have a high proportion of prescriptions written in hospitals that are dispensed in the community.

Medicines: Guernsey

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has made of whether the draft Medicines (Human and Veterinary) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law 2008 conforms with the medicines legislation of the European Union;
	(2)  what information he has on the proposed timetable for the government of Guernsey to bring forward secondary legislation and enforcement measures to implement the proposed Medicines (Human and Veterinary) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has reviewed the draft Medicines (Human and Veterinary) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law 2008 in respect of human medicinal products and believes that it is not consistent with the Medicines Directive 2001/83/EC. The MHRA is already working with the Government of Guernsey to identify where Guernsey will need to introduce additional legislation and to agree a timetable for this.

Mental Health Services: Finance

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what funding is allocated for the provision of mental healthcare treatment for offenders  (a) in custody and  (b) serving community sentences in 2007-08, broken down by funding source; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how much has been spent on providing mental healthcare treatment for offenders  (a) in custody and  (b) serving community sentences in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The information is not held in the format requested. For offenders in custody, in England the total amount allocated specifically to primary care trusts for national health service mental health services in prisons was 1,719,000 in 2001-02, 3,685,000 in 2002-03, 9,400,000 in 2003-04 and 20,000,000 for each year since 2005-06. Information is not available before 2001.
	For offenders serving community sentences, offenders service community sentences will receive treatment provided by the local mental health care NHS provider, commissioned through the local commissioning primary care trust.

Palliative Care: Children

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will undertake research to compare primary care trusts' effectiveness in inclusion of  (a) children's palliative care and  (b) children's hospice services in local development plans;
	(2)  what plans he has to monitor the inclusion of children's  (a) palliative care and  (b) hospice services in primary care trusts' local development plans.

Ivan Lewis: Working with their local partners, including local authorities, primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible for setting local delivery plans (LDPs). The levels of performance set in the LDPs will be agreed and signed off by the relevant strategic health authority (SHA). In turn, the Department will sign off SHA level plans, ensuring that national performance expectations are formally agreed.
	Monitoring of individual LDPs is a role for the relevant SHA.
	It is for PCTs to decide how best to resource the priorities set out in the National Health Service Operating Framework for 2008-09.
	In section 2 of the operating framework under 'Priorities' it states disabled children : identifying actions and setting local targets on improving the experience of, and ranges of services for, children with disabilities and complex health needs and their families. This includes significantly increasing the range of short breaks, improving the quality and experience of palliative care services, improving access to therapies and supporting effective transition to adult services.
	On 19 February, we launched a first ever national strategy for children's palliative care Better Care: Better Lives. The Strategy will assist local commissioners, providers and regulators in will devising local strategies to enable every child and young person with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition access to high-quality, family centred, sustainable care and support with services provided in a setting of choice according to the child's and family's wishes. It sets out clear expectations for improving choice, access and continuity of care, and seeks to place palliative care at the centre of local children's service provision.
	We also announced an additional 20 million in funding to enable the Children's Hospices and Hospice at Home Grant to continue in 2009-10 and 2010-11 with 10 million available in each year.

Palliative Care: Staffordshire

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what data is used by commissioners to determine the need for specialist palliative and neurological care in the Tamworth constituency.

Ivan Lewis: It is for individual primary care trusts (PCTs), including South Staffordshire PCT, within the national health service to commission services for their resident population, including end of life care and neurological care, based on an assessment of local needs and priorities. Strategic health authorities are responsible for monitoring PCTs to ensure they are effective and efficient.
	The NHS operating framework for 2007-08 asked PCTs, working with local authorities, to undertake a baseline review of their end of life care services. These will allow local commissioners to assess current services, identify gaps and obtain a much clearer view of local need, which will inform local commissioning.
	Regarding neurological care, the information strategy published alongside the National Service Framework for Long-term (Neurological) Conditions outlines commissioners' information requirements and a series of local and national actions designed to meet those needs. A copy of the National Service Framework is available in the Library.

Patients

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2008,  Official Report, column 762W, on patients, how many patients were receiving NHS in-patient treatment at  (a) each date referred to in the answer and  (b) in 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 25 March 2008
	Figures are not available on the number of patients receiving treatment on a given day. The number of in-patient admissions in each year since 1997 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Emergency and elective general and acute (G and A) admissions, England( 1) 
			  Thousand 
			  Year( 2)  Total G and A admissions ( 3)  Non-Elective  Elective 
			 1996-97 8,041 3,629 4,413 
			 1997-98 8,261 3,761 4,500 
			 1998-99 8,805 3,882 4,923 
			 1999-2000 8,908 3,920 4,988 
			 2000-01 9,077 3,976 5,101 
			 2001-02 9,131 3,995 5,137 
			 2002-03 9,408 4,041 5,367 
			 2003-04 9,864 4,311 5,553 
			 2004-05 10,204 4,535 5,669 
			 2005-06 10,528 4,732 5,795 
			 2006-07 10,586 4,739 5,847 
			 (1) These figures are for admissions purchased by the national health service ('commissioner-based'). (2) Figures for years prior to 2006-07 have been rebased to allow direct comparison. (3) G and A specialities do not include mental health, learning difficulties or maternity services.  Source:  Health Authority quarterly monitoring, Monthly Monitoring Returns

Prescription Drugs: Misuse

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the National Treatment Agency has taken to improve the availability, capacity and effectiveness of treatment for prescribed drug addicts in England.

Dawn Primarolo: It is the responsibility of primary care trusts in each area to commission services for individuals who are not illicit drugs users but are dependent on prescribed drugs (such as benzodiazepines).
	On the other hand, it is the responsibility of Drug Action Teams (DATs) to commission within their areas specialised treatment for clients who misuse illicit drugs.
	The National Treatment Agency (NTA) provide a range of support guidance to DATs and to treatment providers. Most recently the NTA and the Department published Drug misuse and dependence: UK guidelines on clinical management (2007), which includes a detailed section on the management of benzodiazepines. NTA also oversee the National Drug Treatment Monitoring Service and Treatment Outcomes Profile databases.

Prescriptions

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many prescriptions were  (a) issued and  (b) dispensed in England in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many people in England  (a) paid for prescriptions and  (b) used a prescription pre-payment certificate in each of the last five years.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department does not hold information on the numbers of prescriptions issued, only the number of prescription items dispensed. This can be found in table one of the Information Centre for health and social care publication, Prescriptions dispensed in the community. Statistics for 1996 to 2006: England. A copy of this document has been placed in the Library and is also available on the Information Centre's website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/prescriptions/prescriptions-dispensed-in-the-community-1996-2006-[ns]
	Similarly, we do not hold information on the number of people paying prescription charges, only on numbers of prescription items attracting a prescription charge, either at the point of dispensing or by a prescription prepayment certificate. This information can also be found in table two of the Prescriptions dispensed in the community. Statistics for 1996 to 2006: England.

Prescriptions for Ativan/Lorazepam

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescriptions were issued for ativan/lorazepam in each year since 2000.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department does not hold information on prescriptions issued, only on prescription items that are dispensed. The following table gives the total number of items dispensed for all formulations of lorazepam, including ativan injection.
	
		
			  Prescription items dispensed in the community in England (000) 
			   Lorazepam 
			 2000 715.0 
			 2001 731.4 
			 2002 744.2 
			 2003 761.0 
			 2004 790.6 
			 2005 805.2 
			 2006 839.1 
			  Source:  Prescription Cost Analysis

Prescriptions: Information and Communications Technology

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of primary care settings where prescribing and dispensing take place which are not GP practices, community pharmacies or dispensing appliance contractors were  (a) technically live on and  (b) using the Electronic Prescriptions Service system in each month since the system's inception.

Ben Bradshaw: The initial scope for the electronic prescription service includes general practitioner (GP) practices, including dispensing GP practices, community pharmacies and dispensing appliance contractors. Therefore, no electronic prescription messages have been generated or received in alternative locations where prescribing and dispensing takes place.

Social Services

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of people have taken up the option of direct payments for social care in each local authority area in England.

Ivan Lewis: The percentage of people who have taken up the option of direct payments is not available centrally.
	Data is collected on the number of clients receiving direct payments and is available via the Referrals, Assessments and Packages of Care report which is published by the Information Centre for Health and Social Care. The most recently available data is for 2005-06 a copy of which has been placed in the Library. This data shows there has been an increase of over 50 per cent. in the uptake of direct payments since 2004-05.

Tranquillisers: Misuse

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what statistics are recorded on the incidence of addiction to prescribed tranquillisers;
	(2)  what steps were taken to address tranquilliser addiction in England in each year from 1999 to 2006.

Dawn Primarolo: Information about the incidence of addiction to prescribed tranquilisers is not collected centrally. Decisions about which tranquiliser addiction treatments have been provided between 1999 and 2006 have been made locally by each primary care trust, not by the Department, which does not hold this information.
	Prevention, effective treatment and legal controls are all important in reducing the number of people who become addicted to prescribed tranquilisers like benzodiazepine. The main focus of the Department's action has been to warn general practitioners, other prescribers and users of the potential side-effects and dangers of benzodiazepines and to try and prevent addiction/dependence occurring in the first place.

Transsexuality: Surgery

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many gender reassignment operations were carried out by NHS trusts between January 2007 and January 2008; and at what cost.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested is not yet held by the Department.
	However, the amount of transgender procedures carried out in the national health service in previous years, from 2002 to 2006, are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Male to Female  Female to Male 
			 2002-03 79 2 
			 2003-04 83 1 
			 2004-05 99 0 
			 2005-06 97 4 
			  Note: Data for 2006-07 and 2007-08 is not yet available.  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics data.

Vegetarianism: Research

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research he has evaluated on the effect of vegetarianism on well-being.

Dawn Primarolo: The Food Standards Agency has not conducted any research on the link between vegetarianism and well-being.

West Midlands NHS Diagnostic Service

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many patients were seen by the West Midlands NHS Diagnostic Service during the period of its contract with Care UK;
	(2)  how much  (a) has been and  (b) will be paid to Care UK by his Department in relation to terminating its contract with Care UK for the the West Midlands NHS Diagnostic Service;
	(3)  how much has been spent under the West Midlands NHS Diagnostic Service contract with Care UK since June 2007;
	(4)  for what reasons the West Midlands NHS Diagnostic Service contract with Care UK was terminated in November 2007.

Ben Bradshaw: Up to 31 January 2008, 8,100 diagnostic procedures were delivered to national health service patients by the West Midlands NHS Diagnostics Service.
	Costs incurred as a result of the termination of the scheme are yet to be determined but any payment made by the Department will be governed by the contract with Care UK. The Department is currently in the process of verifying the claim made by Care UK.
	From June 2007 until 31 January 2008, 13.3 million has been paid to the provider.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State outlined in the written ministerial statement on 15 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 78-81WS, that the provision of diagnostic services in the West Midlands should be terminated because of an unacceptably low rate of use, and a very low prospect of the utilisation increasing which represents poor value for money to the taxpayer. In short, a significant increase in productivity by local NHS providers has substantially reduced the need for the capacity provided by this scheme with waiting times for most diagnostics reduced from more than one year to currently three weeks on average.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcoholic Drinks: Crime

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with police forces on alcohol-related crime and antisocial behaviour; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 31 January 2008
	 The Home Secretary has not had any recent meetings specifically on antisocial behaviour and alcohol-related crime, but the Home Secretary and myself regularly have discussions with Police on all aspects of crime, which include antisocial behaviour and alcohol-related crime.
	As announced in the recent written ministerial statement on the evaluation of the impact of the Licensing Act 2003, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Andy Burnham) together with the Home Secretary, will convene a summit of police and local authorities to explore how we can take proposals forward to further tackle alcohol-related harms.

Alcoholic Drinks: Crime

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government plans to take to reduce underage drinking.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 18 February 2008
	The Government take underage drinking very seriously. The National Alcohol Strategy 'Safe.Sensible.Social' published in June 2007, focuses action on three groups most at risk which are 18 to 24-year-old binge drinkers, young people under 18 who drink alcohol, and harmful drinkers whose drinking is damaging their health, often without them realising it.
	In the Home Secretary's speech on 6 February 2008, she said that a number of new measures and possible steps would be taken to crack down on crime and antisocial behaviour which is fuelled by alcohol. This includes highlighting the message that it is not acceptable for young people to drink in public places. The Home Secretary also said that she is considering a number of options including making the possession of alcohol by a young person an offence, or possibly involving the parents if alcohol is confiscated from a child. We are currently considering the effectiveness of the current powers and what can be done to help the police use them more effectively.
	The Department for Children, Schools and Families will also be publishing an action plan later in the year on young people and alcohol which will contain further proposals for reducing drinking by young people. Additionally, two confiscation campaigns have taken place recently; one in October 2007 and one in February 2008. The results of the October campaign showed that nearly 3,700 litres of alcohol were confiscated from young people during the four week period.
	The Government also support schemes that make it easier for retailers to verify, and young people to prove, their age. That is why we are working with the British Retail Consortium's Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS) which validates the variety of proof of age card schemes available. This allows card schemes to apply for accreditation under PASS and entitles them to issue cards displaying the PASS holographic logo. This is easily recognisable both to retailers and young people and helps them know that they have a proof of age document which should be accepted.

Alcoholic Drinks: Enforcement

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government have taken to work with licence holders to reduce levels of antisocial behaviour as a result of drinking on their premises.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 12 March 2008
	The Government continue to prioritise reductions in levels of alcohol-related disorder and antisocial behaviour. Through schemes such as Pubwatch and Best Bar None, we are continuing to support responsible management of licensed premises that results in reductions in alcohol-related crime and disorder. We have also held a series of enforcement campaigns that have targeted irresponsible premises and individuals that contribute to, or partake in alcohol-related crime and antisocial behaviour. This has involved meeting with retailers in local areas to raise awareness in respect of their responsibilities.

Alcoholic Drinks: Young People

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government has taken to work with supermarkets to reduce underage drinking.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 29 February 2008
	Through 'Safe. Sensible. Social. The next steps in the National Alcohol Strategy', the Government are committed to carrying out an independent review of the relationship between alcohol price, promotion and harm, and following public consultation, will consider the need for regulatory change in the future, if necessary. This review is being led by the Department of Health and has gone out to tender. We anticipate publishing the review's findings in the summer of 2008.
	In addition, the Government are also committed to carrying out a review and consultation on the effectiveness of the alcohol industry's Social Responsibility Standards document in contributing to a reduction in alcohol harm, and following public consultation, will consider the need for regulatory change in the future, if necessary. We anticipate launching the public consultation in November 2008.
	Successive Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaigns (AMECs 2004-06) and Tackling Underage Sales of Alcohol Campaigns (TUSACs 2006-07) have been designed to address the problem of underage drinking through the use of test-purchase campaigns focused on all retailers (including but not limited to supermarkets). In 2004, the overall repeated test purchase failure rate was approximately 50 per cent. In 2006, it had dropped to approximately 20 per cent. In this latest and more targeted campaign it now stands at approximately 15 per cent. overall.
	The Prime Minister held an alcohol summit with key alcohol stakeholders in November 2007 a second alcohol summit is planned for spring 2008.

Animal Experiments

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the ministerial letter of 31 January 2006 responding to the recommendations of the Animal Procedures Committee's 2005 report on the Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, if she will make a statement on her considerations of recommendation 18 on improvement of the techniques listed in Table 9 the better to represent procedures in current use that may cause substantial suffering.

Meg Hillier: We will shortly be reviewing our response to all of the recommendations in this Animal Procedures Committee report, including recommendation 18, and will aim to publish our further conclusions when we publish the Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals 2007.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders: Drugs

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of post conviction antisocial behaviour orders contained conditions relating to drug offending, in the latest period for which figures are available; and what percentage of those antisocial behaviour orders were breached.

Vernon Coaker: Information on the conditions attached to antisocial behaviour orders on conviction is not collected centrally.

Asylum

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of unsuccessful asylum cases considered by the Case Resolution Directorate that did not include a questionnaire and are entitled to an appeal have been subject to an appeal; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The requested information is not collated centrally and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost through the examination of individual cases.

Asylum

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of unsuccessful asylum cases considered by the Case Resolution Directorate that included a questionnaire and are entitled to an appeal have been subject to an appeal; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The requested information is not collated centrally and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost through the examination of individual cases.

Asylum

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Answer of 23 January 2008,  Official Report, column 2055-6W, on asylum, whether her Department has re-evaluated its expected completion date for considering and issuing a decision on all asylum cases that fall under the remit of the Case Resolution Directorate; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The Border and Immigration Agency remains committed to, and on track to achieve, the clearance of the older unresolved asylum cases by summer 2011.
	Lin Homer will provide updates to the Home Affairs Select Committee on a six monthly basis.

Asylum

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of asylum applicants with cases considered by the Case Resolution Directorate without a questionnaire have been informed when consideration began either directly or through their legal representative; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The requested information is not collated centrally and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost through the examination of individual cases.

Asylum

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of unsuccessful asylum applicants considered by the Case Resolution Directorate without a questionnaire, and who were subsequently removed, were informed of the outcome of the final decision either directly or through their legal representative prior to removal; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The requested information is not collated centrally and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost through the examination of individual cases.

Asylum

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average length of time was between the final decision being taken and removal for unsuccessful asylum cases considered by the Case Resolution Directorate; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The requested information is not collated and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost through the examination of individual cases.

Asylum

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will place in the Library copies of information provided to staff on the Border and Immigration Agency hon. Members hotline on the Case Resolution Directorate; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: No specific guidance has been issued to workers on the hon. Members hotline. Information on the Case Resolution Directorate can be found on the Border and Immigration Agency website.

Border and Immigration Agency

Richard Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the Border and Immigration Agency's expenditure on advertising related to the new points-based immigration system in financial years  (a) 2007-08 and  (b) 2008-09.

Liam Byrne: To support the introduction of the points-based system which is the biggest change to the UK's immigration system in over 40 years, an advertising budget of 1.5 million was spent in this financial year. This advertising activity targeted employers to make them aware of the new immigration controls and to give them sufficient notice in order to begin to prepare their business for these changes.
	Further advertising activity to support the points-based system is planned in the next financial year. This activity will continue to be aimed at employers who will have new responsibilities under these new immigration controls. The budget for that activity has not yet been finalised.

Border and Immigration Agency: Tribunals

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many employees of the Border and Immigration Agency's predecessor agency, took the agency and her Department to an employment tribunal in each of the last five years; how many such cases were successful for the claimant; what the complaint was in each such case; and how much has been paid in compensation in such cases over those years.

Liam Byrne: The number(1) of employees of the Border and Immigration Agency who have lodged Employment Tribunal claims, and the respective category of these complaints, in each of the last two calendar years(2) are shown in the table as follows.
	(1) Not all cases lodged have proceeded to a formal hearing. The figures reflect the number of staff who have lodged Tribunal claims in the two calendar years and not the number of times the cases have proceeded to a hearing.
	(2) The year in which the Employment Tribunal claim was lodged.
	
		
			  Category  2006  2007 
			 Sex Discrimination 6 5 
			 Disability Discrimination 7 1 
			 Age Discrimination 0 9 
			 Race Discrimination 2 5 
			 Religious Discrimination 0 1 
			 Sex Orientation Discrimination 1 1 
			 Unfair/Constructive Dismissal 27 32 
			 Unlawful Deduction of Wages 6 6 
			 Victimisation 0 1 
			 Total 49 61 
		
	
	None of the aforementioned claims which have been heard by the Employment Tribunal have been successful.
	Information prior to 2006 is unavailable.

Borders: Personal Records

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department has spent on consultation exercises related to the e-borders project.

Liam Byrne: There has been extensive consultation with border agencies and other stakeholders including other Government Departments, the travel industry and carrier communities.
	While we have been able to identify certain costs associated with these consultation exercises, the majority of the costs are not readily identifiable, since e-Borders does not record these by activity.

British Nationality: Assessments

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people who took citizenship tests at the Grahame Park One Stop Shop advice centre in Colindale, North London in 2006  (a) are awaiting the outcome of their citizenship application and  (b) have had the processing of their tests placed on hold as a result of investigations into test fraud at the centre; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is as follows.
	 (a) The most recent data we have identifies that we currently have 500 cases on hold as a result of the allegations regarding an invigilator of knowledge of life in the UK tests taken at the Grahame Park One Stop Shop.
	 (b) No other citizenship applications supported by a test and supervised by other invigilators from the Grahame Park One Stop Shop are on hold.

Case Resolution Directorate

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints her Department has received about the Case Resolution Directorate in each month since its inception; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The requested information has not been collated in a way that would readily identify complaints received about the Case Resolution Directorate. This could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost through the examination of individual records.

Curfews: Children

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children in contravention of their curfew notices have been removed to their place of residence by  (a) police community support officers and  (b) police officers under paragraph 4B of Schedule 4 of the Police Reform Act 2002 in each of the last fours years, broken down by police authority area.

Vernon Coaker: Information is not collected in the form requested. Section 30 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 provides the police with two powers to disperse groups of two or more people and to return young people under 16 who are unsupervised in public places after 9 pm to their homes. 1,065 areas were designated for the exercise of these powers between 1 January 2004 and 31 March 2006. The following table shows a breakdown by police force area. Information on those removed to their place of residence for this period is not held. Information on numbers of designated areas and individuals removed to their place of residence for the period 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007 will be published in June 2008.
	
		
			  Force  Number of areas  designated (January2004 to March 2006) 
			 Avon and Somerset 30 
			 Bedfordshire 29 
			 Cambridgeshire 31 
			 Cheshire 1 
			 City of London (1) 
			 Cleveland 30 
			 Cumbria 2 
			 Derbyshire 22 
			 Devon and Cornwall 49 
			 Dorset 31 
			 Durham 2 
			 Dyfed Powys (1) 
			 Essex 24 
			 Gloucestershire 1 
			 Greater Manchester 45 
			 Gwent 6 
			 Hampshire 69 
			 Hertfordshire 20 
			 Humberside 15 
			 Kent 73 
			 Lancashire 18 
			 Leicestershire 30 
			 Lincolnshire 4 
			 Merseyside 70 
			 Metropolitan Police (2) 
			 Norfolk 18 
			 North Wales 16 
			 North Yorkshire 6 
			 Northamptonshire 67 
			 Northumbria 3 
			 Nottinghamshire 40 
			 South Wales 2 
			 South Yorkshire 16 
			 Staffordshire 30 
			 Suffolk 5 
			 Surrey 33 
			 Sussex 35 
			 Thames Valley 6 
			 Warwickshire 22 
			 West Midlands 123 
			 West Yorkshire 22 
			 West Mercia (2) 
			 Wiltshire 19 
			 Total 1,065 
			 (1) No areas designated (2) No data provided

Departmental Home Working

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in her Department have been able to work from home in the last 12 months.

Liam Byrne: The Home Office does not keep a central record of those staff that are able or who have permission to work at home.
	Line managers have discretion for deciding whether their staff are allowed to work at home. Staff are allowed to work at home for many reasons which can last be both short-term/ad hoc and longer-term arrangements.
	Examples of when working at home is permitted:
	Family or domestic commitments which make it difficult for people to come to the office every day;
	People with disabilities or health problems which prevent them travelling to work on a regular basis;
	People whose work involves regular travel over a wide area where the home is more sensibly and conveniently located to meet business needs; and
	Regular work which does not require regular interaction with colleagues and which, while still meeting business needs, can be completed more conveniently and sensibly from home. Examples would be some stages of research or project work e.g. writing initial scoping documents and final reports.

Departmental Manpower

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) staff and  (b) full-time equivalent staff under 18 years of age are employed by her Department.

Liam Byrne: The most recent cross-Government benchmarking data available (Civil Service Employment Survey 2006) for the number of staff under 18, as at the end of September 2006, shows that the Home Office compares favourably to other Government Departments.
	The latest 2008 figures show a slight decrease in the number of staff under 18; this can be attributed in part to seasonal fluctuations and the Home Office drive to improve efficiency savings and reduce our administrative function under the Gershon review.
	
		
			   30 September 2006  31 January 2008 
			  Permanent and non-permanent staff  Headcount  FTE  Headcount  FTE 
			 HO Headquarters (1)20 (1)20 Less than 5 Less than 5 
			 Border and Immigration Agency (1) (1) 14 8.35 
			 Criminal Records Bureau n/a n/a 0 0 
			 Identity and Passport Service n/a n/a 0 1 
			 n/a = Not available. 
		
	
	The Home Office recognises the value of an age diverse work force. We are a member of the Employers Forum on Age (EFA); more information on the EFA can be found at:
	http://www.efa.org.uk/default.asp
	The Home Office, like all responsible employers, works hard to ensure that all staff, regardless of age, are treated equally from their initial application through to when they leave us.

Departmental Pay

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was claimed in reimbursable expenses by senior civil service staff in her Department and its agencies in the last 12 month period for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: The Home Office accounting system does not hold the requested information in a readily accessible form; it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Of the Home Office agencies the Criminal Records Bureau reimbursed 12,700 in the last 12 months and the Identity and Passport Service reimbursed 35,000 in financial year 2006-07.
	All staff expenses are reimbursed subject to the conditions set down in the Civil Service Management Code.

Departmental Public Participation

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what subjects her Department commissioned opinion polling in each of the last two years; and at what cost.

Liam Byrne: During the last two years (2006-07) the Home Office has commissioned public opinion polling on attitudes, experiences and awareness of a broad range of crime, immigration and asylum issues. Specific polls have been carried out on the issues of neighbourhood policing and gangs. The cost of the opinion polling was 67,500 during 2006 and 197,025 during 2007 (exc. vat).

Departmental Temporary Employment

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what average hourly rate her Department paid to employment agencies for agency staff in each year since 1999, broken down by employment agency.

Liam Byrne: Agency workers are used where recruiting managers require individuals to undertake a role of short duration, or as a temporary measure where permanent staff are unavailable or there are exceptional and overriding business reasons for doing so.
	Agency workers should only be used as a short-term solution to fill a particular need that cannot be met by permanent staff.
	The Home Office currently uses its new national framework for the supply of admin/clerical temporary staff (agency). This contract was awarded in April 2007 and will run for a period of four years. Contracts were awarded to seven suppliers:
	Reed Employment
	Hays
	Brook Street
	Office Angels
	Kelly Services
	Northern Recruitment Group plc
	Employment Plus
	with pricing aligned to the 13 government regions.
	The range of temps covered by this framework is wide from basic administrative grades to generalist junior managers. The pricing information is commercially sensitive with differing rates between each supplier. The effort and cost of averaging every role by supplier by 13 regions would incur disproportionate cost.
	Details of the average hourly rate paid by the Department to each employment agency for agency staff in 2005-06 for the core Home Office is not held centrally and to provide the information would incur disproportionate cost. Information relating to BIA and the Executive Agencies is available as follows:
	
		
			  Hourly rates paid to employment agencies by BIA for 2005-06 
			  Employment agency name  Average hourly rate () 
			 Huntress 10.12 
			 Headstart 9.94 
			 Tate 9.20 
			 Brookstreet 9.89 
			 Employment Plus 9.79 
			 Reed 9.91 
			 Crown Personnel 9.93 
			 Berry Recruitment 9.09 
			 PRC 9.13 
			 Office Angels 9.85 
			 Hays 8.99 
			 First Recruitment 9.57 
			 Demon 9.11 
			 Catherine Johnstone 9.57 
			 Blue Arrow 9.50 
			 Ashley Morgan 9.40 
			 Middleton Murray 8.98 
			 Southern Recruitment 9.11 
			 New Appointments Group 14.18 
			 ADECCO 8.55 
			 Select 12.20 
		
	
	
		
			  Hourly rates paid to employment agencies by Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) for 2005-06 
			  Employment agency name  Average hourly rate () 
			 Computer Futures 56.00 
			 Drive On 50.00 
			 Excel Recruitment 16.84 
			 Hays Accountancy 17.18 
			 ITP Recruitment 63.00 
			 Montpellier 52.70 
			 Reed Personnel Services 18.38 
		
	
	
		
			  Hourly rates paid to employment agencies by Identity and Passport Services (IPS) for 2005-06 
			  Employment agency name  Average hourly rate () 
			 Adecco 18.75 
			 Ajilon 43.10 
			 Brook Street 13.17 
			 Capita 69.61 
			 Crystal 38.00 
			 Elan 67.74 
			 Glotel 25.41 
			 Kelly Services 22.74 
			 NESCO 68.08 
			 NRG 122.22 
			 PA Consulting 159.03 
			 Parity 77.74 
			 Pendragon 73.27 
			 Real Time Consultants 58.06 
			 Rullion 38.80 
			 Search 75.89 
			 SGS 59.30 
			 Spring 51.23 
			 Step Forward 22.70 
		
	
	During 2006-07 the Home Department used the HM Prison Service Framework agreement for temporary staff and the average pricing (across five suppliers/nine regions) for 2006-2007 was as follows:
	
		
			  Average hourly rate paid to employment agencies for agency staff across five suppliers/nine regions for 2006-07 via the HM Prison Service Framework agreement 
			  Grade  Average hourly rate paid () 
			 Admin Officer 9.30 
			 Admin Assistant 8.45 
			 Executive Secretary/PA 12.69 
			 Senior Secretary 11.60 
			 Junior Secretary 9.60 
			 Receptionist 8.97 
			 Telephonist 8.90 
			 Messenger 8.04 
		
	
	Information on the hourly average rate paid to employment agencies for agency staff prior to 2005-06 is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Travel

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department and its agencies spent on first class travel in the last 12 months for which figures are available, broken down by staff grade.

Liam Byrne: The Department's accounting system does not separately identify expenditure on first class travel. Such information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The Department expects all official travel to be carried out by the most efficient and economic means available, taking into account the cost of travel and subsistence, savings in official time, management benefit, and the needs of staff with disabilities. This is in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code and the Ministerial Code.
	For the Department's agencies, The Criminal Records Bureau and the Identity and Passport Service, answers could, again, be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Deportation: Grants

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of payments under the Facilitated Returns Scheme were made to  (a) failed asylum seekers,  (b) migrants and  (c) foreign national prisoners in the last year for which information is available.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 14 March 2008
	 The Facilitated Returns Scheme is limited to those foreign nationals who have committed a criminal offence for which they have received a custodial sentence and is not open to failed asylum seekers or migrants as separate categories.

Domestic Violence: Staffordshire

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were arrested for offences involving domestic violence in  (a) Tamworth constituency and  (b) Staffordshire in each year since 2000.

Vernon Coaker: The Home Office does not routinely collect data on the number of arrests for domestic violence related offences but is planning to commence the collection of this data from 2009-10 onwards. The Home Office does, however, collect data on the number of arrests for domestic violence related incidents since 2005-06.
	Incidents are defined as any incident of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional) between adults who are or have been intimate partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality.
	A subset of domestic violence related incidents are those incidents where a specified offence has been committed.
	However there has been a change in what is collected as a result of changes in legislation as Section 110 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 made all offences arrestable.
	2005-06 to January 2006: number of arrests for those domestic violence incidents where a power of arrest existed.
	January 2006 onwards: number of arrests for any domestic violence incidents.
	Data is available from Staffordshire for the period 2004-05 and 2005-06:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2004-05 5,230 
			 2005-06 5,793

Domestic Violence: Victim Support Schemes

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will review guidance issued to local authorities on helping women subject to domestic abuse with no recourse to public funds, setting out the steps authorities need to take.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 25 March 2008
	 The guidance issued to local authorities, via a circular in February 2006, will be reviewed as part of the development of a new scheme for victims of domestic violence who, through their insecure immigration status, have no recourse to public funds. Details will be made available later in the spring.
	As part of this work, we will also be drafting guidance for voluntary sector agencies and other potential advocates who are assisting these victims, and will outline what is required for a successful application for Indefinite Leave to Remain.

Drugs: Crime

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government plan to take to tackle illegal drugs.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 6 March 2008
	The Government published on 27 February a new comprehensive 10-year Drug Strategy backed-up with a three year action plan. The strategy is focused on preventing young people developing drug problems, targeting families at risk and intervening early through a whole family approach, protecting communities through robust enforcement by attacking drug supply at all levels and cutting drug-related crime and disorder.
	Key actions to tackle illegal drugs and the harms they cause include:
	extending police powers to seize more dealers' cash and assets on arrest rather than conviction;
	embedding action to tackle drugs within the Neighbourhood Policing approach, responding to community concerns about drugs, acting on intelligence provided by the community and giving feedback on how such intelligence was used;
	identifying and targeting those drug misusing offenders causing the greatest harm to communities and improving the responses to divert them out of crime using more effective and integrated approaches;
	helping families at risk and supporting parents with drug problems and ensuring prompt access to treatment for all drug misusing parents with a treatment need;
	continuing to improve drug treatment with a focus on treatment outcomes and on more individuals overcoming drug dependence; and
	using opportunities presented by the benefits system to provide support and create incentives to move towards treatment, training and employment.

Drugs: Crime

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken to combat drug-related crime in smaller towns and communities.

Vernon Coaker: The Government are committed to tackling drug-related crime wherever it occurs, including in our smaller towns and communities.
	The recently published strategy, 'Drugs: protecting families and communities' sets out clearly our future intention to take a robust stance against dealers and to reduce drug-related offending, including developing ways to regularly engage and respond to the needs of communities. In addition, we will make asset seizure more visible to local communities so those communities see the benefits of working with police and their partners to identify dealers.
	The Government have already invested heavily, including through the Drug Intervention Programme (DIP), in reducing drug-related crime. DIP aims to get adult drug-misusing offenders out of crime and into treatment and other support. Delivery at local level is through local partnerships, using integrated teams (including drug workers in all custody suites) for which funding is provided in all areas of England and Wales, including smaller towns and communities. Since DIP began, acquisitive crimeto which drug-related crime makes a substantial contributionhas fallen by around a fifth.

Drugs: Schools

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2008,  Official Report, column 583W, on drugs: schools, whether information is to be collected centrally on arrests of school pupils.

Vernon Coaker: The Home Office and Ministry of Justice have no plans to collect statistics on arrests of school pupils.

Eurostar

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department and its agencies spent on  (a) first and  (b) other class travel by Eurostar in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: The Department's accounting system does not separately identify expenditure on travel by Eurostar. Such information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	For the Department's agencies, the Criminal Records Bureau's spend is nil and the Identity and Passport Service's spend could not be identified without incurring disproportionate cost.
	The Department expects all official travel to be carried out by the most efficient and economic means available, taking into account the cost of travel and subsistence, savings in official time, management benefit, and the needs of staff with disabilities. This is in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code and the Ministerial Code.
	The Cabinet Office produces the annual list of Cabinet Ministers overseas travel, the one for 2006-07 was published on 25 July 2007.

Firearms

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to reduce the availability and use of replica firearms in public places.

Vernon Coaker: In October 2007, as part of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006, we implemented a ban on the manufacture, import and sale of realistic imitation firearms, which evidence showed were being used in criminal activity to threaten and intimidate. The 2006 Act also increased to 12 months the maximum sentence for possessing an imitation firearm in a public place without lawful authority or reasonable excuse.
	The police, together with SOCAthe Serious Organised Crime Agencyand HM Revenue and Customs, are looking at the supply and availability of firearms as a priority. This includes items which contravene the recent legislation on realistic imitations.
	We have also recently increased the provision of search arches and wands in priority areas and, as part of the Tackling Violence Action Plan, have committed to providing additional search technology to the police and partner agencies.

Genetics: Databases

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what powers chief constables have to order the retention or removal of entries from the national DNA database; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Hillier: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for West Bromwich, West (Mr. Bailey) on 21 February 2008,  Official Report, column 824W.

Genetics: Databases

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Yorkshire residents had samples of their DNA recorded on the National DNA Database at the latest date for which figures are available.

Meg Hillier: holding answer 11 March 2008
	The National DNA Database (NDNAD) does not hold address details, and it is not, therefore, possible to provide figures for the number of people who are resident in the Yorkshire area. The following table gives figures for people sampled by the Yorkshire police forces, however, these people may not be resident in the area in which they were sampled. There are two figures for each force: the number of profiles, and the estimated number of individuals. The number of profiles held on the database is not the same as the number of individuals. As it is possible for a profile to be loaded onto the NDNAD on more than one occasion, some profiles held on the NDNAD are replicates. This can occur, for example, if the person provided different names, or different versions of their name, on separate arrests, or because profiles are upgraded.
	At present, the replication rate is 13.3 per cent., that is, the number of people whose details are loaded is 13.3 per cent. fewer than the number of profiles.
	
		
			  Police force  Subject profiles  Estimated number of individuals 
			 North Yorkshire 55,879 48,447 
			 South Yorkshire 117,023 101,459 
			 West Yorkshire 214,362 185,852 
			 Total for Yorkshire forces 387,264 335,758

Government Offices for the Regions

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which of her Department's programme budgets were administered by the Government Offices for the Regions in each of the last five years.

Liam Byrne: GOs directly administered the following programmes on behalf of Home Office between 2002-03 and 2006-07:
	1. Home Office Regional Deputy Directors Allocation
	2. Basic Command Unit
	3. Safer Stronger Communities Fund (incorporating Building Safer Communities Fund, Anti-Social Behaviour Co-ordinators and Drug Strategy Partnership Grant)
	4. Specialist Domestic Violence Courts
	5. Independent Domestic Violence Advisors
	6. Tackling Violent Crime Programme
	7. Domestic Violence
	8. Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences
	9. Sexual Assault Referral Centres
	10. Guns, Knives and Gangs
	11. Criminal Damage Initiative
	The Safer Stronger Communities Fund is now paid to the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) for inclusion in local area agreements (LAAs).

Identity Cards: Students

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she expects students to be able to  (a) obtain a student loan and  (b) open a bank account without an identity card from 2010.

Meg Hillier: The National Identity Scheme Delivery Plan published on 6 March 2008 and available on the Identity and Passport Service website:
	http://www.ips.gov.uk/identity/downloads/national-identity-scheme-delivery-2008.pdf
	set out our plans for issuing identity cards on a voluntary basis to young people from 2010. Identity cards will provide many advantages to young people who wish to prove their identity as they start out their independent life in society. There is no requirement to have an ID card when applying for a student loan.

Immigration

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the letter of 17 December 2007 from the chief executive of the Border and Immigration Agency to the Home Affairs Committee, how many cases dealt with under the legacy exercise in which leave to remain in the UK has been granted concerned individuals who had been refused leave to remain under the October 2003 family indefinite leave to remain exercise; and what her policy is on the grant of leave to remain under the legacy exercise to individuals who have been refused leave under the family indefinite leave to remain exercise.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 10 January 2008
	A written update was provided by Lin Homer on 17 December 2007 to the Home Affairs Select Committee stating that 52,000 older asylum cases have been concluded, of which two-thirds had either been removed, or discovered to be duplicate files or other errors. Around a third (19,000) had been granted leave to stay, of which around 570 did not qualify under the 2003 family exercise.
	We consider each case on its own merits and will look at the most up to date information in deciding a claim. Decisions will be based upon the information and circumstances prevalent at the time, regardless of previous exercises.

Immigration

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department by what means she first become aware of Mr Moshe Feiglin's application to enter the UK; what representations she has received from  (a) other Government departments and  (b) community groups on Mr Feiglin's case; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: It is not the policy of the Home Office to comment on individual cases.
	The Home Secretary may decide to exclude or deport any individual who is not a British citizen if she considers that their presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good. The Home Secretary will use these powers when justified and based on all available evidence taking full account of the views of the relevant Departments. Since July 2005 the Home Secretary has excluded 79 individuals from the UK on grounds of unacceptable behaviour.

Immigration Controls: Airports

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many full-time equivalent immigration officers were employed screening incoming passengers at  (a) Heathrow,  (b) Stansted and  (c) Gatwick airports in each of the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: I wrote to the hon. Member on 14 March 2008.

Immigration Controls: Domestic Service

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2008,  Official Report, column 801W, on immigration controls: foreign workers, what the programme of research and analysis being undertaken in respect of the current provisions for overseas domestic workers consists of; when she expects the results to be published; and if she will place in the Library a copy of the results.

Liam Byrne: The focus of the research is to gather existing evidence on overseas domestic workers (ODWs) in order to understand better the risks associated with those entering as ODWs. The research will also highlight the quality of, and any identifiable gaps, in currently available information.
	The research is expected to be completed in the spring.
	The findings of research are normally published if they meet quality standards and do not present issues of security, operational effectiveness or confidentiality. However, a publication date has not been set.

Immigration Controls: Eurostar

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether persons who purchase a Eurostar train ticket from Brussels to Lille are  (a) subject to juxtaposed UK immigration controls at Brussels,  (b) checked for valid UK entry documents at any stage during their journey,  (c) required to alight from the train at Lille and  (d) subject to full immigration control in the UK if they remain on the train until it arrives in the UK.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 21 January 2008
	Passengers who purchase a Eurostar train ticket from Brussels to Lille are not subject to juxtaposed UK Immigration Controls at Brussels. Under Schengen rules, immigration checks between Schengen states are only permitted in exceptional circumstances.
	All passengers boarding at Brussels, irrespective of their ticketing arrangements, have their travel documents checked by the Belgian Federal Police (BFP), who also check personal details against departmental systems. Anyone travelling without valid travel documents will be refused travel by BFP and are liable to arrest if illegally found in the Schengen area.
	Passengers who are ticketed only as far as Lille should disembark there. Passengers who are travelling to the UK from Brussels are subject to Immigration Control. Any passengers who do not get off at Lille who are then identified by The Border and Immigration Agency, British Transport Police, Kent Police or the Metropolitan Police can be intercepted and detained in the UK for travelling with inadequate documentation.

Immigration: Deportation

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 803-4W, on immigration: deportation, what the definition is of serious criminality for the purposes of prioritisation of consideration of deportation under the legacy exercise; what guidance is given to caseworkers relating to this; whether any record is kept of how many such cases result in deportation; and what approach is taken in respect of applicants whose criminality falls outside the definition of serious criminality.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 25 March 2008
	The definition of serious criminality used within the Border and Immigration Agency is set out in published guidance. Cases which fall within that definition are prioritised in the legacy exercise.
	All decisions on legacy cases are made on a case by case basis by caseworkers within the Case Resolution Directorate. The Border and Immigration Agency's website provides details of policy and guidance that staff follow when considering all cases.
	In her letter of 17 December 2007 to the Home Affairs Select Committee, Lin Homer, chief executive of the Border and Immigration Agency, stated that of the 52,000 older asylum cases that had been concluded, about 16,000 led to removals, some of which would be deportations. A detailed breakdown of the reasons for these removals could only be obtained by examination of individual case records at a disproportionate cost.
	The Border and Immigration Agency is committed to the removal of foreign criminals who commit a serious crime in this country. We have repeatedly said we will target the most dangerous first. Increasingly we are deporting those who have received shorter sentences.

Immigration: Fees and Charges

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate her Department has made of the number of people entitled to apply for indefinite leave to remain under the 14-year residence rule who are not permitted to work or claim benefits until their status is regularised and cannot afford the fee.

Liam Byrne: This information is not known. An estimate of this type would be extremely difficult to arrive at, resource intensive and unlikely to be accurate given the nature of this type of application.

Members: Correspondence

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she will answer Question 168341, tabled by the hon. Member for Mid Sussex on 21 November 2007, on terrorist suspects and asylum.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 18 February 2008
	 I replied to the hon. Member on 14 March 2008,  Official Report, column 681W.

Migrants: English Language

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research she has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated into the proficiency in English of workers obtaining leave to enter under (i) the highly skilled migrants scheme and (ii) the work permit scheme; and what assessment she has made of the proficiency in English of those who have obtained leave to enter under these schemes.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 12 November 2007
	 People coming here under the highly skilled migrant programme (HSMP) have been obliged to meet an English language requirement since November 2006. Such migrants have to prove that they have either:
	passed an English language test equivalent to level 6 (competent user) on the International English Language Testing System's scale; or
	Obtained a bachelor's degree or equivalent that was taught in English.

Passports: Personation

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps were taken to counter identity fraud by the UK Passport Service in each of the last five years; what the cost of these was in each year; what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of these steps; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Hillier: The Identity and Passport Service, and prior to 1 April 2006, the UK Passport Service, has introduced a range of measures that help to counter identity fraud. These include carrying out identity checks, investigating suspected identity fraud cases, implementing systems and processes to detect and prevent fraudulent applications for UK passports, systems to confirm the validity of UK passports presented to other organisations and the introduction of interviews for first time passport applicants over 16-years-old. As part of research into the cost of identity fraud to the UK economy published in February 2006, The UK Passport Service calculated the cost of measures to counter identity fraud when processing applications for UK passports issued in the UK at 62.8 million.
	In addition, the Identity Fraud Steering Committee (IFSC), chaired by the Identity and Passport Service, has since 2003 been leading a cross public-private sector work programme to tackle identity fraud. There have been a number of successes and costs are given where available. Tougher criminal penalties have been introduced for driving licence and passport offences, alongside offences in the Identity Cards Act 2006 to target those who possess and use false identity documents and genuine documents belonging to someone else.
	The IFSC has also led on introducing more powers to share data to combat fraud, and most recently the Disclosure of Death Registration Information Scheme was launched on 16 January 2008.
	We have worked extensively to raise public awareness of identity fraud. A leaflet and the website:
	www.identitytheft.org.uk
	provide a quick and easy guide on things to look out for that indicate that a person may be at risk of becoming a victim of identity theft or fraud, or that they are already a victim. Over 13 million leaflets are in circulation and the website receives an average of 16,000 visits per month. Leaflets are printed by a range of partners on the IFSC, as well as banks and other organisations.
	Costs associated with the website are shared across IFSC members. The total cost to Identity and Passport Service in 2007-08 of the leaflet, poster and website is 12,000. In 2006-07 Identity and Passport Service spent 5,500 on printing leaflets. In 2005-06 the Home Office spent 25,000 on identity fraud awareness material.
	We have also sought to ensure better co-ordination in prosecuting fraudsters. This has involved the establishment of a network of Single Points of Contact in all police forces and a range of Government Departments and agencies dealing with identity fraud investigations and prosecutions.

Public Order: Young People

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the police's powers to disperse groups of youths; and what plans she has to extend those powers.

Vernon Coaker: Dispersal orders are one of a number of measures to tackle antisocial behaviour. They have succeeded in tackling underage drinking, joyriding, noise nuisance, the antisocial use of fireworks and the harassment and intimidation of residents. They are not intended to be used in isolation, but should form part of a tiered and integrated response to tackling crime and disorder and antisocial behaviour in local areas. This includes work by Youth Offending Teams to prevent young people getting involved in offending and antisocial behaviour. There are no plans to extend dispersal powers.
	While no assessment has been made of the efficacy of dispersal orders on their own, a study and report by the National Audit Office ('Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour', HC 99 Session 2006-07, 7 December 2006) confirmed that a tiered approach to tackling antisocial behaviour is highly effective. This is also borne out by the fact that perceptions of antisocial behaviour have fallen by 4 percentage points from the baseline of 21 per cent. in 2002-03 to 17 per cent. in 2005-06.

Rape: Prosecutions

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the next quarterly report to the National Criminal Justice Board on local progress in investigating and prosecuting rape will be issued; and if she will publish  (a) this report and  (b) all future reports from the board.

Vernon Coaker: The Rape Performance Group will report to the National Criminal Justice Board on a quarterly basis, but the precise arrangements for this have yet to be agreed. There are no plans to publish a quarterly report on the performance of police forces and CPSthe Crown Prosecution Serviceareas on the investigation and prosecution of rape cases.

Travel Restrictions: Football

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations she has received on the enforcement of prohibitions upon certain individuals against travel to and attendance at international football matches; what discussions she has had on the matter with her counterpart in the Scottish Executive; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: Individuals subject to football banning orders imposed in England and Wales are required by the Football Banning Orders Authority to report to a designated police station at the beginning of the control period for all matches and tournaments played outside England and Wales and thereafter on match days. Failure to comply with these instructions is a criminal offence punishable by a custodial sentence of up to six months and/or 5,000 fine and the imposition of a further football banning order.
	There is close co-operation between the Home Office and Scottish Executive, and between police forces on both sides of the border to ensure that different legislative arrangements across the UK do not lead to evasion of the controls. The requirement that banned individuals report to their designated police station at least five days prior to a relevant match or tournament ensures local police have sufficient time to take enforcement action against any individual who fails to comply with reporting instructions.

Vandalism: Staffordshire

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests there were for vandalism in  (a) Tamworth constituency and  (b) Staffordshire in each year since 2000.

Vernon Coaker: The arrests collection undertaken by the Ministry of Justice provides data on persons arrested for recorded crime (notifiable offences), by Police Force area, age group, gender, ethnicity, and main offence group. Hence data are not available at parliamentary constituency level and cases involving vandalism are not identified by the collection. Information is given in the following table for Staffordshire police force area for the number of persons arrested for offences within the main offence group criminal damage:
	
		
			  Table 1: N umber of persons arrested for recorded crime (notifiable offences) of Criminal Damage( 1)  in Staffordshire police force area, by period 
			   Total 
			 2000-01 n/a 
			 2001-02 n/a 
			 2002-03 n/a 
			 2003-04 2,988 
			 2004-05 3,266 
			 2005-06 3,159 
			 n/a = Not available. (1) Includes indictable offences for criminal damage and summary offences of criminal damage, 35,000 or less.  Note:  Every effort is made to ensure that figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she will answer Question 176720, tabled by the hon. Member for Shipley on 18 December 2007, on Project Semaphore.

Liam Byrne: I replied to the hon. Member on 5 March 2008,  Official Report, column 2669W.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to reply to the Question tabled on 4 February 2008, by the hon. Member for Eddisbury, on Wikipedia, (185527).

Liam Byrne: I replied to the hon. Member on 17 March 2008,  Official Report, column 790W.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Departmental Sustainable Development

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when his Department plans to publish its sustainable operations policy statement.

Gareth Thomas: The Department for International Development (DFID) has published its Environmental Operations Policy which is available on the DFID website at:
	www.dfid.gov.uk/aboutdfid/environment.asp
	This sets out the Department's approach to managing the Estate's operational and support activities in line with the Government's objectives on Sustainable Development. The DFID Sustainable Development Action Plan has also been published and is available at:
	www.dfid.gov.uk/news/files/sustainable-development-plan-intro.asp
	This explains DFID's approach to sustainable development, the commitments made in the UK Sustainable Development Strategy, and plans for taking them forward.
	DFID's performance against Sustainable Development in Government targets is reported annually by the Sustainable Development Commission, and the latest (2007) report records the continuing improvement in DFID's environmental performance.

Developing Countries: Overseas Aid

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of UK aid in reducing poverty in the developing world.

Gareth Thomas: The Government are committed to ensuring that UK aid is used effectively to make a difference to the lives of the world's poorest people. UK aid helps lift three million people permanently out of poverty every year. The recent OECD-DAC baseline survey also shows that the Department for International Development (DFID) has either met or is on track to meet all of the 2010 targets contained in the Paris Declaration on aid effectiveness.

Kenya: Overseas Aid

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what  (a) development and  (b) humanitarian aid his Department has provided to Kenya via (i) bilateral programmes, (ii) multi-lateral agencies and (iii) non-governmental organisations in the last five years.

Gillian Merron: The Department for International Development (DFID) has provided the following support to Kenya over the last five years.
	
		
			  Table 1: DFID Bilateral assistance to Kenya, 2002-03  to  2006-07 
			  000 
			   Total humanitarian assistance to Kenya  Total DFID bilateral assistance to Kenya (excl. humanitarian assistance)  Total DFID bilateral assistance to Kenya 
			 2002-03 1,474 42,524 43,998 
			 2003-04 229 25,532 25,761 
			 2004-05 5,517 29,671 35,188 
			 2005-06 16,577 46,096 62,673 
			 2006-07 13,240 52,048 65,288 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Imputed UK Share of multilateral official development assistance (ODA) to Kenya, 2001-05 
			  000 
			 2001 14,678 
			 2002 3,557 
			 2003 18,250 
			 2004 9,447 
			 2005 10,279 
		
	
	DFID provides funding to non-Government organisations in Kenya, but it does not collate statistics on the total amount of its bilateral programme that is delivered through NGOs.

Sudan: Overseas Aid

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether he has received reports of the hijacking of World Food Programme trucks in Darfur since 1 January 2008; and what assessment he has made of the humanitarian impact of such events in Darfur.

Gillian Merron: The latest statement from the World Food Programme (WFP) indicated that five WFP passenger vehicles and 45 WFP-contracted trucks have been hijacked in Darfur since the start of 2008. Some 37 trucks and 23 drivers are still unaccounted for.
	The insecurity in Darfur has forced many agencies to scale back operations at a time on increasing need. Although existing food stocks are sufficient for the next two months, the insecurity is hampering the ability of WFP and other agencies to stock pile food, medicines, shelter materials and fuel before the onset of the rainy season in May/June when needs will rise dramatically and logistics become extremely difficult.

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

Further Education

Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, what assessment he has made of the impact that the changes to regional administration will have on the funding of colleges of further education; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: On 17 March with the Department for Children, Schools and Families we published Raising Expectations: enabling the system to deliver. It sets out plans to tackle education and skills challenges and strengthen support for young people and adults.
	In the proposals, colleges will receive funding for pre 19 provision from local authorities and for post 19 provision from the Skills Funding Agency. This continues the current practice of two distinct discussions for pre and post 19 provision.

National Apprenticeships Service

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, what the functions and objectives of the proposed National Apprenticeship Service are; and if he will make a statement.

John Denham: The proposed National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) will have end to end responsibility for the Apprenticeship programme, including accountability for the national delivery of targets. Full functions and objectives of the National Apprenticeship Service are detailed in Section 4 of 'World-class Apprenticeships: Unlocking Talent, Building Skills for All' published on 28 January 2008. The NAS will be a distinct service within the Learning and Skills Council and will commence in April 2009.

Bursaries

Andrew MacKay: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, if he will take steps to improve access to bursaries for students from lower-income families.

Bill Rammell: This Government have put in place the most generous financial support package ever. At least 70,000 students from a lower-income background have received bursaries.
	But we can and must do more. We have made improvements to the Student Finance Form to make it easier for students to consent to share financial information to be assessed for bursaries. We are also working with OFFAthe Office for Fair Accessand the sector on sharing good practice on encouraging bursary take-up.

Learning and Skills Council

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what his policy is on the future role of the Learning and Skills Council.

John Denham: The White Paper 'Raising Expectations: enabling the system to deliver', was published jointly with DCSF on 17 March 2008. This sets out proposals to replace the Learning and Skills Council with two new systems. Responsibility for 16-19 funding will transfer to local authorities, supported by a new Young People's Learning Agency. For adults we propose to strengthen the demand led approach, including through the creation of a new Skills Funding Agency and a strengthened advice and support service.
	These proposals will require legislation, and the LSC will continue to play an important role in securing effective delivery of post-16 learning until the new arrangements are in place.

Universities: Access

Christine Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, what discussions he has held with universities on enabling public access to their facilities.

Bill Rammell: This is already part of the business of higher education providers. For example, over two million people attend public lectures and performances put on by higher education providers, UK academics provide over 30,000 working days in support of museums, galleries and related education activity, benefiting millions of people, and the public can access top class sporting facilities as well. Our new university challenge initiative also emphasises that higher education providers make a real difference to the cultural life of towns, not least through the facilities which benefit both students and communities.

Learning and Development

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what assessment he has made of the demand for learning and development in relation to sectors requiring highly skilled workers; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: Analysis undertaken for the Leitch review suggested that 18 million jobs would become vacant between 2004 and 2020, half of which would be in the occupations most likely to employ graduates and those with higher level skills. All sectors require highly-skilled workers to meet the increasing demand for knowledgeable, adaptable and innovative people and Sector Skills Councils articulate the needs of employers for learning provision at all levels in particular sectors.

Wirral Metropolitan College

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills if he will make a statement on the future of Wirral metropolitan college.

Bill Rammell: The Corporation of Wirral Metropolitan College has recently announced plans to develop a new world class college for 2011, including investment to redevelop the college estate. These plans are at an early stage: they will require consultation and will need to demonstrate that they provide further education opportunities that meet the needs and demands of people in the Wirral.

Knowledge Transfer

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what assessment he has made of the contribution knowledge transfer partnerships can make to university-created businesses.

Ian Pearson: The aim of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) is to strengthen the competitiveness and wealth creation of the UK by the stimulation of innovation in business through collaborative partnerships with the UK knowledge base. Businesses of all sizes in most industries and commercial sectors can take part.
	No specific assessment has been made of the contribution KTPs can make to university spinout businesses. However, in July 2007 the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) took over responsibility for Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, and the TSB is currently considering how best to meet the needs of different types of businesses.

Higher Education

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many students gained a place at a higher education institution in the last period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The latest figures published by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) show that the number of applicants who have been accepted for entry to full-time undergraduate courses in 2007 was up by 6 per cent. compared to 2006. They have also exceeded the large increase in 2005, which means the 2007 figures are the highest ever. The small downturn which we saw in 2006, which we always anticipated, has been strongly reversed this year.

Age: Discrimination

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps the Government have taken to identify and record instances of age discrimination in the workplace.

Patrick McFadden: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills.
	Neither the European Framework Directive (2000/78/EC) nor the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations, which implement the age strand of the directive, require instances of age discrimination in the workplace to be identified and recorded. Instances of age discrimination that individuals have challenged through the employment tribunal system are recorded. Data about cases are available in the employment tribunal and EAT statistics for the year to 31 March 2007 at:
	www.employmenttribunals.gov.uk/publications/documents/annual_reports/ETSAS06-07.pdf
	We shall be monitoring the effectiveness of the legislation through the second Survey of Employers Policies, Practices and Preferences Relating to Age in 2009 and through the second Fair Treatment at Work Survey later this year which looks at perceptions of discrimination in the workplace.

Departmental Publications

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what guidance is issued to members of his Department on the authorship and publication on the internet of material relating to their official duties; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The guidance currently offered to staff comprises:
	The Civil Service Code, covering the values and standards civil servants are expected to uphold, in terms of integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality.
	Staff policies on involvement with publications, broadcasting, lectures, conferences and surveys; acceptable usage of IT; political activities; official information and data protection; and whistleblowing.
	We are working with the Cabinet Office to develop cross-government guidance on use of social media by Government, including the propriety and ethical issues raised. This is due for publication in April.

Departmental Video Conferencing

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills if he will set a target to increase the use of video conferencing by his Department to reduce the need to travel to meetings.

Bill Rammell: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills is committed to reducing the need to travel to meetings where this is practicable and appropriate. Our departmental blueprint sets out our vision to be innovative and have exemplary business operations. In developing our new headquarters building, Kingsgate House, we have installed state-of-the-art video conferencing and telepresence facilities, as well as phone conferencing. E-conferencing is also being used to give people the ability to attend meetings from their desks by accessing a shared workspace which enables interaction with colleagues. Our wide range of video conferencing facilities provide for ad-hoc one-to-one conversations as well as formal planned meetings and committees. These are seen as really positive steps within the Department and I do not believe that to develop an artificial target to increase video conferencing usage would deliver any additional benefits.

Educational Institutions: Community Relations

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what guidance his Department has issued to educational establishments on promoting shared values and combating violent extremism.

Bill Rammell: On 22 January, we issued guidance to higher education institutions on promoting good campus relations, fostering shared values and preventing violent extremism on HE campuses.
	On 11 February we also launched a consultation with the further education sector on its role in this area and the support providers need.

Higher Education: Business

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what his assessment is of the contribution universities make to business.

Bill Rammell: Universities make an important contribution to business through research, knowledge transfer, innovation and work force development, in addition to supplying skilled and knowledgeable graduates. We have invested in university-business collaboration through increases in the Higher Education Innovation Fund and Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and a stronger focus on the economic impact of research. Work force development is less developed and we will consult through a Higher Level Skills Strategy on how universities can better meet this challenge.

Personal Records: Databases

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills which  (a) companies based in the United States and  (b) UK subsidiaries of US companies have been contracted by his Department and its agencies to provide services involving the use, storage, processing and analysis of databases of personal information held by the Government on UK citizens during the last five years.

Bill Rammell: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) was created by the Prime Minister on 28 June 2007.
	 HEFCE
	Contracts with IPSOS/MORI for the purpose of carrying out the National Student Survey. As part of this contract, IPSOS/MORI transfers some data to a US company called SPSS Inc.
	 FE
	The following research organisations to whom both DIUS and LSC have supplied ILR data to in the last five years and who appear to be UK subsidiaries of US companies:
	ORC International: part of Opinion Research Corporation who are based in Princeton, New Jersey.
	Guidance Enterprise: GE Research.
	BMRB Social Research: they are part of Millward Brown, who in turn are part of Kantar Group, a company based in Connecticut.
	CACI Ltd.: they are a subsidiary of CACI International Inc. who are based in the US.
	 Student Loans Company
	The Oracle Corporation in the US hold and process the HR and finance data for the Student Loans Company on the Oracle system. These systems do 'not' meet the definition of a database as advised by the Cabinet Office.
	The Government takes the protection of personal data extremely seriously. Data exchanges between the Student Loans Company and HMRC have all been reviewed following the Chancellor's statement on 20 November to ensure they meet the appropriate security standards. No breaches of data protection protocols have occurred in respect of student loan administration. Furthermore, the provisions catering for the sharing of information in the Sale of Student Loans Bill will strengthen the framework for legal protection of data in respect of all loans, whether sold or unsold. The Bill will extend an existing criminal sanction prohibiting the wrongful disclosure of HMRC information outside the terms of the legislative gateway.